Genocide denier’s events cancelled in Australia

November 20, 2013 - 12:06 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Professor Justin McCarthy, a well funded denier of the Armenian Genocide, has had two planned events in Sydney and Melbourne cancelled on the grounds of his unwelcome denialist views, the Armenian National Committee of Australia reported.

McCarthy was due to address audiences at the University of Melbourne and at the New South Wales Art Gallery this week, however, each institution revoked McCarthy’s opportunity after learning of his abhorrent denialist views on the Armenian Genocide.

Executive Director of the Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC Australia), Vache Kahramanian welcomed the independent decision taken by both institutions.

“Justin McCarthy's views have no place in Australia and no institution or venue should ever allow a genocide denier to utilise their stage,” said Kahramanian.

“Genocide denial is the final act of genocide against victims and surviving generations. As a proud multicultural nation we should never allow the denigration of the memory of victims of genocide,” Kahramanian added.

McCarthy is due to address a private gathering in Parliament House, Canberra, on November 21.

ANC Australia has written to all Members of Parliament, informing them of McCarthy’s denalist views and to ensure they do not allow Parliament House to be used as a platform for McCarthy's denialist views.

The Armenian Genocide

The Armenian Genocide (1915-23) was the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I. It was characterized by massacres and deportations, involving forced marches under conditions designed to lead to the death of the deportees, with the total number of deaths reaching 1.5 million.

The majority of Armenian Diaspora communities were formed by the Genocide survivors.

Present-day Turkey denies the fact of the Armenian Genocide, justifying the atrocities as “deportation to secure Armenians”. Only a few Turkish intellectuals, including Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk and scholar Taner Akcam, speak openly about the necessity to recognize this crime against humanity.

The Armenian Genocide was recognized by Uruguay, Russia, France, Lithuania, Italy, 45 U.S. states, Greece, Cyprus, Lebanon, Argentina, Belgium, Austria, Wales, Switzerland, Canada, Poland, Venezuela, Chile, Bolivia, the Vatican, Luxembourg, Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands, Paraguay, Sweden, Venezuela, Slovakia, Syria, Vatican, as well as the European Parliament and the World Council of Churches.