Community reactions keep coming in, despite news that the Victorian Parliament is not expected to back a motion to recognise the Genocide of Greeks, Armenians, and Assyrians.
The educational institution “Hellenism of Anatolia – from the Aegean Sea to Pontos” is among latest organisations to have urged the state’s political leadership to officially recognise the Genocides during the 1910s-1920s.
“These acts are historical fact and are widely considered by academics as the first genocide of the 20th century as the acts perpetuated on the minorities indeed meet the criteria of a genocide as defined by the United Nations,” they write in a letter sent to Victorian Premier, Jacinta Allan, on Friday, and shared with Neos Kosmos.
“As an educational institution we believe it is part of our shared responsibility as ancestors of these victims to call upon yourself, your party and the Victorian Parliament to join South Australia, New South Wales and Tasmania to become the fourth state to officially recognise these atrocities as acts of genocide.”
As reported by Neos Kosmos this week, the proposed recognition motion which Victorian Greens leader Samantha Ratnam planned to table in Parliament on 29 October, is expected to be dropped.
The Premier issued a statement confirming they would not support the motion if presented, while Neos Kosmos understands that Adam Bandt, the federal leader of the Greens, intervened late on Wednesday night to pull the motion.
This masthead called Bandt’s office, which neither confirmed or denied the intervention.
Operating under the auspices of the Australian Federation of Pontian Associations, the Educational Institution “Hellenism of Anatolia – from the Aegean Sea to Pontos” represent educators and students from a range of educational settings.
“We are certain that we speak on behalf of educators and students alike within the state of Victoria and Australia wide, that your support of this motion would be an important step in ensuring the memory of the victims is kept eternal,” they write in their letter addressed to Premier Allan.
The letter stresses the call for recognition “is not about hatred” nor it intends to “put any strain on relationships which may exist between the Victorian government and the Turkish community”.
“On the contrary it is about friendship and forgiveness. It is about healing wounds of the past and building new relationships for the future.
“It is to ensure that future generations of Victorians understand that we live in a state which recognises historical mistakes and provides a message to its citizens that they should not be repeated.”
The letter to the Premier is signed on behalf of the Institution by a delegation, including Yiota Stavridou, Mary Serafim, Simela Stamatopoulos and Kosta Pataridis.
