New South Wales Ecumenical Council of 16 Churches joins growing calls for Australian PM to recognize Armenian Genocide

The New South Wales Ecumenical Council has joined in growing calls for Prime Minister Scott Morrison to recognize the Armenian, Assyrian and Greek Genocides, reported the Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU).

The NSW Ecumenical Council has written to the Prime Minister, expressing the views of 16 highly influential churches in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, including the Anglican Church, Antiochian Orthodox Church, Armenian Apostolic Church, Assyrian Church of the East, The Bruderhof, Congregational Federation of NSW, Coptic Orthodox Church, Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo Church, Greek Orthodox Church, Indian Orthodox Church, Lutheran Church of NSW, Mar Thoma Church, Religious Society of Friends, Syrian Orthodox Church, The Salvation Army and Uniting Church Synod of NSW and ACT.

In his correspondence, President of the NSW Ecumenical Council, Dr. Ray Williamson strongly urged Prime Minister Morrison to recognise the mass murder of over 1.5 million Armenians and over 1 million Assyrians and Greeks as Genocide without further delay.

“It is time for the Australian Government, on behalf of the nation, to recognise officially this crime against humanity as an act of genocide,” Dr. Williamson said.

ANC-AU Executive Director, Haig Kayserian welcomed the statement from one of the largest and most influential Christian bodies in the country.

“We thank the New South Wales Ecumenical council for standing with the Armenian-Australian, Assyrian-Australian and Greek-Australian communities, and calling on the Australian Government to stand on the right side of history,” said Kayserian.

On the eve of the 106th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, pressure continues to build on Prime Minister Morrison. The NSW Ecumenical Council has now joined Christian Charity Barnabas and the New South Wales Armenia-Australia Friendship Group, among others, in calling for the change in Australian foreign policy wording to include the word genocide when referencing 1915.

Earlier this month, the Armenian National Committee of Australia wrote to Prime Minister Scott Morrison requesting his statement on the 106th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide to accurately characterize the Armenian, Assyrian and Greek Genocides.

The Armenian-Australian, Assyrian-Australian and Greek-Australian communities have united under the Joint Justice Initiative banner, announcing a #SpeakUpScoMo March for Justice in Sydney and Melbourne on 24th April 2021.