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O'FARRELL FACES GALLIPOLI THREAT
Fairfield Champion, Australia
August 28, 2013 Wednesday
First Edition
byBianca Martins
PREMIER Barry O'Farrell and all NSW Parliament members may be banned
from the centenary commemorations in Gallipoli in 2015, the Turkish
Government has warned.
The announcement was made after a motion officially recognising the
genocide of Assyrian people at the hands of the then Turkish Ottoman
was passed unanimously by the NSW Legislative Council in May.
The Turkish government has strongly condemned the motion and says it
is not compatible with historical facts.
Members of the local Assyrian community argue otherwise.
Recently they successfully lobbied Fairfield Council to change
the wording on a monument in Bonnyrigg and a plaque in Fairfield
commemorating what they call the Assyrian genocide.
Fairfield councillor Ninos Khoshaba, who raised the motion in
Parliament when he was the Smithfield MP, said he was disappointed by
the Turkish threat to ban NSW MPs from attending the Gallipoli service.
"I think they are being a little unreasonable and it's disappointing to
take that stance, but it's a decision they need to live with," he said.
"This is something that happened 100 years ago. It's not a reflection
of the current government or the Turkish people here in Australia.
"This genocide was committed by the then Ottoman Empire and it was
their own people who overthrew the Ottoman Empire during that time."
Cr Khoshaba said it was also disappointing that people were trying
to defend the genocide.
"As for being barred, it was their decision," he said.
"I'm not going to lose any sleep over not being allowed to go to
Turkey."
But the local Turkish community disagree with the Assyrian
interpretation of the incident, which took place during World War I.
Turkish community spokesman Adem Cetinay said he supported the decision
made by the Turkish government.
"I think it's too soft," he said.
"You can't be someone's friend and then not their friend at the same
time. It was both sides of Parliament that passed this motion, which
was even sadder.
"There's no evidence than genocide took place. It's all fabricated
evidence."
But the Assyrian Universal Alliance's deputy secretary-general, Hermiz
Shahen, said millions of Christians perished because of the genocide.
"The Ottoman Empire carried out ethnic cleansing against all the
Christian nations - the Greeks, Armenians and Assyrians," he said.
"This is a fact that they cannot deny - millions of indigenous ethnic
people perished because of it. It's unfortunate that they are trying
to deny the facts. We want to forget the past, but how can we forget
it when Turkey aren't apologising for what happened and giving relief
for people to leave history behind.
"They are threatening sovereignty to do what they think is the right
thing. And it's not right."
Fairfield Champion, Australia
August 28, 2013 Wednesday
First Edition
byBianca Martins
PREMIER Barry O'Farrell and all NSW Parliament members may be banned
from the centenary commemorations in Gallipoli in 2015, the Turkish
Government has warned.
The announcement was made after a motion officially recognising the
genocide of Assyrian people at the hands of the then Turkish Ottoman
was passed unanimously by the NSW Legislative Council in May.
The Turkish government has strongly condemned the motion and says it
is not compatible with historical facts.
Members of the local Assyrian community argue otherwise.
Recently they successfully lobbied Fairfield Council to change
the wording on a monument in Bonnyrigg and a plaque in Fairfield
commemorating what they call the Assyrian genocide.
Fairfield councillor Ninos Khoshaba, who raised the motion in
Parliament when he was the Smithfield MP, said he was disappointed by
the Turkish threat to ban NSW MPs from attending the Gallipoli service.
"I think they are being a little unreasonable and it's disappointing to
take that stance, but it's a decision they need to live with," he said.
"This is something that happened 100 years ago. It's not a reflection
of the current government or the Turkish people here in Australia.
"This genocide was committed by the then Ottoman Empire and it was
their own people who overthrew the Ottoman Empire during that time."
Cr Khoshaba said it was also disappointing that people were trying
to defend the genocide.
"As for being barred, it was their decision," he said.
"I'm not going to lose any sleep over not being allowed to go to
Turkey."
But the local Turkish community disagree with the Assyrian
interpretation of the incident, which took place during World War I.
Turkish community spokesman Adem Cetinay said he supported the decision
made by the Turkish government.
"I think it's too soft," he said.
"You can't be someone's friend and then not their friend at the same
time. It was both sides of Parliament that passed this motion, which
was even sadder.
"There's no evidence than genocide took place. It's all fabricated
evidence."
But the Assyrian Universal Alliance's deputy secretary-general, Hermiz
Shahen, said millions of Christians perished because of the genocide.
"The Ottoman Empire carried out ethnic cleansing against all the
Christian nations - the Greeks, Armenians and Assyrians," he said.
"This is a fact that they cannot deny - millions of indigenous ethnic
people perished because of it. It's unfortunate that they are trying
to deny the facts. We want to forget the past, but how can we forget
it when Turkey aren't apologising for what happened and giving relief
for people to leave history behind.
"They are threatening sovereignty to do what they think is the right
thing. And it's not right."