Armenian genocide: Leaders snub Scott Morrison over ‘genocide’ backflip
The Armenian community will deliver a snub to Prime Minister Scott Morrison, at an official event to commemorate the Armenian genocide.
Starting on this day in 1915, more than 1.5 million Armenians were exterminated by the Ottoman Empire (now Turkey) over a 10-year period.
Historians widely accept the acts as genocide but the Turkish government denies this and pressures foreign governments to do the same.
In his statement, Mr Morrison angered the community by refraining from using the term.
“To mourn and to remember the horrors that befell Armenian people at the end of the Ottoman Empire”.
It’s a backflip on Mr Morrison’s position while in opposition where, in 2011, he said the “genocide” was “one of the greatest crimes against humanity”.
Armenian National Committee Executive Director Haig Kayserian phoned Alan Jones, saying their position is clear.
“If anybody sends us a statement – in this case, both the Prime Minister and the Opposition leader – and to not properly characterise the events as genocide, we don’t read those statements.
“It’s offensive to the thousand people in the room who are mainly descendants of survivors of the Armenian genocide.”
Click PLAY below to hear the full call