Australian Liberal Party candidates call for recognition of Armenian Genocide

CANBERRA — On the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, one of the genocides committed by the Ottoman Empire and its allies against Christian peoples and other minority groups that killed millions, seven candidates of the Liberal Party of Australia issued a joint statement to the leader of the Opposition, Peter Dutton, urging him and the next Liberal government to officially acknowledge the atrocities as genocide.

According to the Armenian Australian Committee, the letter sent to the leader of the opposition was endorsed by candidates Gisele Kapterian (North Sydney), Dr. Katie Allen (Higgins), Tim Wilson (Goldstein), Manny Cicchiello (Aston), Katie Mullens (Parramatta), Scott Young (Bennelong), and Theo Zagraphos (Chisholm).

Michael Kolokossian, Executive Director of the Australian Armenian Committee, expressed gratitude to the candidates for supporting the Australian Armenian community in pressuring the country’s leaders to recognize the Armenian Genocide.

In 2023, the Liberal Party of Australia endorsed the party’s policy on the genocide of Armenians, Syriacs (Aramean–Assyrian–Chaldean), and Greeks during 1915–1923.