Greek community calls on Victorian parliament to acknowledge genocides

As the 110th anniversary of the Genocide of Christians by the Ottoman rulers approaches, a coalition of Greek, Armenian, and Assyrian organisations intensifies pressure on MPs to support recognition of the Ottoman-era atrocities

The Armenian Genocide refers to the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I. It was implemented through wholesale massacres and deportations, with the deportations consisting of forced marches under conditions designed to lead to the death of the deportees. The total number of resulting Armenian deaths is generally held to have been between one and one and a half million. The word genocide was coined in order to describe these events. Photo: AAP/Universal Images Group

23 October 2024 4:58pm

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In a wave of letters, Greek community organisations in Victoria have been urging the state parliament to support a motion recognising the genocides of Armenians, Assyrians, and Greeks by the Ottoman state between 1915 and 1922. This proposed motion will be introduced by the leader of the Victorian Greens, Samantha Ratnam.

A broad academic consensus affirms the historical events during 1915-1916 when the Ottoman Empire systematically sought to exterminate the Armenian population amounts to genocide. Over 1.3 million Armenians were massacred, perished on death marches, or died of starvation. At the same time, over 250,000 Assyrians, 300,000 Greeks suffered the same fate.

Up to two million indigenous Christians were driven out of Anatolia, now Turkey, culminating with the burning of Smyrna in 1922 and the expulsion of 1.2 million Hellenes.

The campaign for recognition has been spearheaded by the Armenian National Committee of Australia, a member of the Joint Justice Initiative, which also includes the Assyrian National Council – Australia and the Australian Hellenic Council.

The Pan-Macedonian Association of Melbourne and Victoria (Pan-Mac), in a letter emailed to all Victorian MPs, has garnered support from over 20 Greek community clubs. Pan-Mac’s president, Peter Stefanidis, and secretary, Harry Tsairis, expressed that their members are “outraged” that support for the motion “is being debated when every academic institution and many countries such as the US, France, Austria” have already recognised these atrocities.

Pan-Mac calls on parliamentarians to “take a principled stance and stand with the Greek-Australian community of Victoria.”

“As we prepare to commemorate the 110th anniversary of the Greek Genocide, we call upon strong leaders to affirm the history of the victims, support the resilient descendants of survivors, and recognise the courageous contributions of Victorians who aided our people during that time.”

The President of the Greek Community of Melbourne (GCM), Bill Papastergiadis, has written to Premier Jacinta Allan and Leader of the Opposition John Pesutto, urging them to support the motion.

In his letter to the premier, Papastergiadis confirms that the GCM and the wider Victorian Greek community express “unequivocal support for the proposed motion” and adds, “we encourage your government to support it.”

The GCM president links the importance of this recognition with the government’s “leadership” in addressing “past wrongs committed against the Indigenous community, including apologies for these injustices.”

“This has helped in addressing the intergenerational trauma of our Indigenous communities. The proposed recognition of these genocides will address similar trauma in Victoria’s Greek, Armenian, and Assyrian communities,” Papastergiadis states.

He details some of the facts of the genocides, which are not disputed, and points out that 34 nations, including the United States, Austria, France, Poland, and Portugal, as well as the parliaments of New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania, have already supported such motions.

“The historical facts are accepted and well-documented by respected academics and historians. They show that three million mainly Christian victims of Greek, Armenian, and Assyrian ethnicities were affected by these genocides,” writes Papastergiadis.

He also highlights the support for the motion from the “World Council of Churches and other Christian denominations,” which have written to premier Allen.

In a similar letter to Opposition Leader John Pesutto, Papastergiadis, like many others, stresses that this recognition should not be viewed as “anti-Turkish.”

“It should be emphasised that this recognition is not anti-Turkish, as some may claim. It is a necessary foundation for reconciliation between peoples by bringing the affected communities together.”

However, Neos Kosmos understands that the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, Natalie Suleyman, who is of Turkish Cypriot descent, has strongly opposed the motion. Suleyman is reportedly supported by significant numbers of Turkish Australians from Melbourne’s outer suburbs, who are now involved in Labor sub-branches.

Ratnam has also faced criticism, with advocates from various Turkish Australian organisations labelling her stance “opportunistic.” The Greens have historically aligned with pro-Palestinian and pro-Muslim positions on the Gaza conflict, but they now appear to be reaching out to Greek and Middle Eastern Christian communities in the Wills electorate.

According to Neos Kosmos sources, Labor is waiting to see what the Liberal opposition will do, while the Liberals are similarly awaiting a move from the government. It seems to be a case of who will act first.