A multitude of Victorian community organisations and local constituents have expressed support for a proposed Motion to recognise the Genocide of Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks which is expected to be tabled in the Victorian Parliament later this month.
According to sources, a wide range of groups from diverse multicultural, ethnic communities and religious organisations have expressed support for the Motion.
Indicative of the breadth of such support, Member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly for Mornington Chris Crewther recently stated: “I believe it is critical to acknowledge this to honour the victims, survivors and their descendants and to ensure that it never happens again.”
Dean Kalimniou, a member of the Joint Justice Initiative, comprised of members of the Armenian, Assyrian and Greek communities who have been campaigning for the recognition of the Genocide in Victoria and who have spearheaded the move for the Motion, in a letter on behalf of the Panepirotic Federation of Australia to parliamentarians pointed out:
“[T]he motion honours every day Victorians who stood up during one of the darkest chapters in modern history, including the Lord Mayor of Melbourne Sir David Hennessey, Victorian Captain Stanley Savige, who played a key role in saving tens of thousands of Assyrians and Armenians; and Ballarat-born George Devine Treloar and Melbourne resident Joice Nankivell Loch, who resettled tens of thousands of survivors of the Greek Genocide.”
This year, the Joint Justice Initiative managed to have educational resources pertaining to the Genocide incorporated within the Educational Standards Authority of New South Wales.
The Motion is expected to be moved in the Victorian Legislative Assembly by Victorian Greens Senator, Samantha Ratnam.
