With the Turkish Government describing witness accounts of the Armenian, Assyrian and Greek genocides written by WWI Australian soldiers as fabrications, NSW MP Reverend Fred Nile has spoken out condemning the allegation.
Mr Nile moved the original motion recognising the genocides that was unanimously adopted by the NSW Parliament in May, much to the consternation of Turkey – who as a result, threatened to ban the state’s parliamentarians from visiting Gallipoli.
Premier Barry O’Farrell last week described recent comments made by NSW’s Turkish Consul General on the matter, as “a terrible indictment … of the freedom that was fought for on the Gallipoli Peninsula in 1915”.
The Consul, Ms Gulseren Celik, said in a letter to state parliament that accounts of the Ottoman genocides by Australian soldiers based in Anatolia at the time were fabricated.
In a speech to the NSW Parliament last week Reverend Nile reaffirmed the validity of the accounts, quoting from verified historical sources, including documents from official Anzac records.
Reverend Nile said the crux of the debate was “the individual and collective right to memory”, and said that Turkey’s allegations that his actions were an incitement to hate were baseless.
“Is it recalling hatreds, real or imagined, to commemorate the Shoah, the Jewish genocide, or Timorese or Papuan suffering under the Japanese in World War II?” said Mr Nile.
“Historical debate often involves offence being taken by individuals, especially when entrenched positions are being undermined.”
Mr Nile told Neos Kosmos he was shocked by the Turkish Consul’s description of Anzac records as fabrications, and that the NSW Government was looking at a number of options in order to respond to Turkey’s threat to ban parliamentarians from Gallipoli.
“We should not forget these genocides happened, to ignore them as historical fact is kicking the relatives and survivors of subsequent generations,” he said.
Having recently returned from a tour of Armenia with a cross-party delegation, Reverend Nile said Australia’s Foreign Minister Bob Carr should intervene in the situation.
“It’s disappointing that the Federal Government seems to be acting in a cowardly way, and the threats from Turkey are having an effect on our Federal Government. It’s ridiculous,” said Mr Nile.
“The government should do what’s right and what’s truthful, and not be blackmailed.”
Twenty-one countries around the world have passed formal resolutions recognising the Armenian, Assyrian and Greek genocides by the Ottoman empire. Along with Australia, Britain and the United States have not, although 43 US states have.
Consul Gulseren Celik told reporters she is confident the Australian Government has no intention of following what she describes as the “outrageous” NSW motions.