SYDNEY: On Thursday, 25 July 2024, the Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU) hosted a mid-year virtual meeting with the organisation’s Australian Friends of Artsakh network, drawing the participation of over 35 of the cohort’s esteemed members from across Australia, to hear updates about the ongoing crisis from Artsakh and Azerbaijan’s aggressive policies against Armenians, reported the Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU).
During the meeting, attendees heard from special guests, including Dr Arman Tatoyan – the former Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Armenia, Dr Artak Beglaryan – the former Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Artsakh, and Dr Adam Thomas Smith, a Distinguished Professor of Arts and Sciences in Anthropology at Cornell University and a member of the Caucasus Heritage Watch research team, that monitors at-risk cultural and religious sites in Artsakh.
Following a welcome message from the ANC-AU, Dr Smith dived into Azerbaijan’s cultural and religious desecration campaign aimed at erasing the Armenian identity from the region and the real risks associated with such policies. Tatoyan spoke of Azerbaijan’s ongoing occupation of the sovereign borders of the Republic of Armenia and its consequential effects, whilst Mr Beglaryan shed light on the dire conditions faced by his people who have become refugees following the ethnic cleansing of Artsakh’s over 100,000 indigenous Armenians on 19 September 2023.
The meeting’s 35 attendees engaged actively in the discussion and had the opportunity to ask questions directly to the guest speakers to better understand the situation on the ground, whilst members present underscored their ongoing support for the rights of the people of Artsakh and discussed initiatives to further advocate for the Armenians of Artsakh.
Notable attendees included: Kylea Tink MP – Federal Member for North Sydney; Mr Tim James – NSW Member for Willoughby; Mr Matt Corss – NSW Member for Davidson; Mr Mark Coure, NSW Member for Oatley; the Hon. Susan Carter – NSW Member for the Legislative Council; the Hon. Chris Rath – NSW Member for the Legislative Council; the Hon. Ann-Marie Hermans MP – Victorian Member for the South-Eastern Metropolitan Region; Dr Deborah Mayersen – Senior Lecturer in International and Political Studies at the University of NSW Canberra; Liberal Candidate for Goldstein – Tim Wilson; Mr Lyle Shelton, Founder and National Director of Family First and NSW Councillors Angelo Rozos (Willoughby), Georgie Roussac (Willoughby), Robbery Samuel (Willoughby), Hugh Erikson (Willoughby), Nic Wright (Willoughby) and Carmen Lazar (Fairfield).
In addition to federal, state, and local elected representatives, community leaders, including Rev. Krikor Youmshajekian – Armenian Missionary Association and Mr Hermiz Shahen – Assyrian National Council, as well as parliamentary advisors from the offices of Kat Theophanous MP, Kim Wells MP, Zoe Bettison MP, and Tammy Franks MP, attended the virtual meeting.
ANC-AU Executive Director Michael Kolokossian thanked the three guest speakers and the Australian Friends of Artsakh, who have continued their ongoing support of the people of Artsakh and ended with a call to continue to use their platform to speak in support of the Armenians of Artsakh.
