SYDNEY, Australia—The Legislative Council of the New South Wales Parliament last week adopted a resolution recognizing the Republic of Nagorno Karabagh and the right to self-determination of its Armenian people, who declared independence 20 years ago.
The motion, which was unanimously adopted on Oct. 25, came after many months of advocacy from the Armenian National Committee (ANC) of Australia. It was introduced to the Chamber by the Hon. Marie Ficarra MLC, who was been a long-standing supporter of Armenian issues.
The motion acknowledges the 20th anniversary of independence for the Republic of Nagorno Karabagh, supports the right to self-determination of its people, and “calls on the Commonwealth Government [of Australia] to officially recognize the independence of the Republic of Nagorno Karabagh and strengthen Australia’s relationship with Nagorno-Karabagh and its citizens.”
ANC Australia Executive Director Vache Kahramanian and Communications Director Haig Kayserian were present in the Gallery to witness the successful passage of this historic motion.
“Nagorno-Karabagh has been at the forefront of ANC Australia’s recent activities. Today’s result is a victory for all those who continue to remain oppressed under brutal regimes,” Kahramanian remarked.
“The NSW Parliament has always been, and continues to be, a beacon of hope in upholding human rights. We thank all members of the Legislative Council for taking a stance to uphold the basic human right to self-determination. In particular we thank Marie Ficarra for her courageous stance.”
ANC Australia Honorary Chairman Greg Soghomonian welcomed this historic decision.
Soghomonian said, “The Republic of Nagorno Karabagh is now receiving the status it has long deserved–an independent, democratic republic. This is a significant milestone for the Armenian-Australian community and the Armenian community at large.
“This motion serves as a testament to the strength of the Armenian National Committee of Australia in ensuring the representation of all issues of importance to our community,” he added.
Below is the full text of the motion:
1. That this House notes that 2012 marks the 20th anniversary of the declaration of independence of the Republic of Nagorno Karabagh.
2. That this House:
(a) acknowledges the importance of the basic human right to self-determination and a free and a democratic society,
(b) recognizes the right to self-determination of all peoples including those of the Republic of Nagorno-Karabagh,
(c) notes Nagorno-Karabagh’s sustained efforts towards creating a free and democratic society through the use of legitimate parliamentary elections and its continued efforts to develop a responsible government,
(d) supports and encourages Nagorno-Karabagh’s involvement within the international community and further encourages its engagement with the international community to reach a solution to the existing regional problems to establish peace and stability,
(e) encourages peaceful relations and the continued promotion of humanitarian and economic support for the people of Nagorno-Karabagh, and
(f) calls on the Commonwealth Government to officially recognise the independence of the Republic of Nagorno-Karabagh and strengthen Australia’s relationship with the Nagorno-Karabagh and its citizens.
THANK YOU S. Wales!! :)
Who is next? The Federal Republic of Eskimos?
Well Ahmet.. at least we don’t claim Eskimos or American Indians to come from Turkish bloodline like your lame excused nationalist do..or that Turks have culture, heritage and history of their own.. HA
What? It is giving you a heart burn that we receive support one by one and your country is getting cold shoulder and rat’s ass from international countries one by one?
Maybe we should get Uyghurstan to recognize Nagorno-Karabagh. Wouldn’t that be something? :)
“or that Turks have culture, heritage and history of their own..”
We do, we do, anndddd we do.
RVDV:
Turks have a history of about 1000 years. But what culture and heritage of their own do they have? Repeat: their own?
Gourgen,
Stealing other people’s culture and presenting it as yours is a culture too. Forcibly assimilating people and brainwashing them to the point that they cut their genetic ancestors throats on ethnic ground is a culture too.
Sella jan.. you are absolutely right.. it is sad that they believe in such fairytales but it is considered their own culture and history with such acts… but then we all know it is absolutely a lie that they live in and unfortunately it is engraved in their brains so hard that it is very difficult to unravel… that is the reality of TRYING SOOO HARD TO FORGET AND DENY THE PAST AND PRESENT…
Heartfelt thanks Australia and New South Wales Parliament! More to come, I’m sure… to Ahmet’s “delight”. Gayane, Ahmet spews venom because he knows that Turks and their AzeriTartar cousins will one way or the other, sooner or later, pay for their crimes against the Armenians.
Thank you Parliament of NSW — Bravo and congratulations to ANC Australia.
Ahmet what is your worry? that there will be one more monument in Ryde Memorial Park honouring those young Armenians who fell fighting to liberate their lands? are you worried that now you will have to destroy two monuments instead of one???????
Liberty and justice for all but not only for some people and nations.
Thank you very much Mrs. Marie Ficarra, to all members of the Legislative Council and Australia.
Tell other Christians that armenians claim Noah was armenian. I want to their face when you do that :-)
By the way it is not that you can have some godforsaken Aboriginal (slash) regional governing body recognize something that nobody does. Have the president of the USA do the same thing then talk to me.
ANCA has been mourning because neither of the candidates has even contacted with the armenian constituents. That is what I call rat’s ass! ;-)
Ahmet..
When you are referring to a nation or the people of that nation.. you address them PROPERLY… Armenians and not armenians… you ignorant individual… maybe they teach you in your schools to be hateful but i am hoping you get real lesson by visiting our sites…pay attention to the word “hope”… that is the key word because as far as we can see.. there may never be hope for people like you…..
I don’t understand you, guys. Here is an article openly stating that the ARmenian lobbysts were responsible for getting this bill passed, and here you are, thanking Australia. Instead, you should be thanking your compatriots living in Australia. But then again … should you be really thanking these lobbysts either? Shouldn’t their efforts be more apt if they actually helped Armenia improve its economy and democracy, rather than spendign their time, money, and efforts on getting empty symbolic legistlation passed in some obscure legislature in a far away land.
Kerim:
you AxeriTatarTurks worry about democracy in your own Hereditary Sultanate Axerbaijan: see if you can democratically ‘elect’ Ilham Aliyev’s underage son your next president.
we Armenians will worry about Armenia and NKR.
regarding the economy: would you like me to post the link about abject poverty in Axerbaijan produced by BBC again ?
what are guys going to eat when your oil runs out ?
Sultan Aliyev blew a fuse a couple of weeks ago, when he got the bad news from BP about his cash cow slowly drying up.
No wonder you, guy, don’t understand us. Based on your comments elsewhere, it seems you only understand things pertaining to Caucasian Tartars-turned-Azeris. You can understand Khojali but not Sumgait, Baku, Kirovabad, and Maragha. Not even the chronology of events. Not even the difference between a peaceful constitutional appeal for transfer of territory and barbaric murder of people. It’s called sheer Armenophobia.
Likewise, in this case, it is above you, a Caucasian Tartar, to understand that if Australia’s New South Wales Parliament didn’t find it politically expedient to recognize Artsakh’s independence, no compatriots living in Australia or their lobbying efforts could have change the Australians’ minds. Have you given this a thought? Take your time…
I don’t think anything Kerim said in his post was objectionable. He has a point.
This is a essentially a toothless declaration that has absolutely no bearing on official relations between Australia and the rest of the world.
Anyone with any knowledge of Australia would understand that this is purely declarative resolution made by State of NSW and not the actual Australian Government. Only the Commonwealth Government can effect official relations with other foreign states by virtue of section 51 of the Australian Constitution that grants powers over external affairs.
Thanks Zak for the heads up. That is exactly where our next support will come from. One hill at a time the mountain will be conquered. And how curious that someone without a national identity like Ahmet, would be the one to comment on a 3000 year old culture like the Armenians. I have shoes that are older than their nation. And yes, Eskimos, who also have a national identity have had more impact on the world than your genocidal ancestors.
thanks for the clarification.
and all this time we Armenians thought the declaration had teeth.
we had such high hopes.
we were lied to: we were told it is legal under something called ‘Australian Constitution’.
that’s why we worked so hard.
maybe if we get the City of Sidney to recognize NKR, then it might have teeth ?
and who is this thing called ‘actual Commonwealth Government’: can someone with any knowledge of Australia please explain to us yokels ?
Avery,
Australia has a federal system of government, made up of numerous States with the Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government at the top. They are the only entity allowed to pass laws which affect the whole country (and not State governments).
I’d be guessing that this would be the equivalent of a US state recognizing NKR in defiance of the Federal US government. Since only the Fed have powers over foreign affairs the declaration is inconsequential in practical terms. But definitely makes a good news headline.
Why not approach some city councils in Turkey to recognise what you want ? I spend a month in a village not far away from istanbul once a year so if you send me a petition I will try to pass a resolution for you in the village council just to make you happy
Yahya The Turk… another idiotic comment by someone who is oblivious and lacking intelligence on history and territorial intergirty subjects…
I see there is a lot of arguments on two sides.
I have a proposal: NKR should be an independent state under one condition. That is what should happen is that the non-Armenian refugees get expelled from the NKR war should return back to their homes in NKR. Also, NKR should be an independent country, seperate from both Azerbaijan, and Armenia. Kind of like a Switzerland in the Caucasus.
Also, Baku and Sumgait, as well as Khojaly should not be denied either.
What does everyone think of my deal?
Hey Freddy Krueger.. (could not think of anything else to use as your name huh?)…
Let me switch the tables around and if YOU can accomplish this, then by all means Armenians will allow and agree to do what you are proposing.
IF you don’t produce the results, they you are SOL….
So here it goes… UNTIL you get Turks/ TURKEY give EVERYTHING BACK that was stolen, broken, destroyed, and BRING ALL Descendents of the Genocide survivors that are dispersed all over the world because of the Genocide/massacres your country perpetrated and later continued by your step brother Azerbajian’s bloodshed of the Armenins in Baku and surrounding areas.your idiotic proposal will be thrown out.. Kabish?
Until then .. you better think of ways NOT to open your mouth and demand something that never belonged to you in the first place and later on LOST in a fair and square war…apparently in your braindead minds, when you fight a war and lose, the losers then come back and demand the things that did not belong to them … that is not how it is in the real world..that is serious..
Thank you and have a nice cup of decency, intelligence, and common sense…
G
Tell us about Khojaly Herr Krueger…
Freddy Krueger,
Your deal sounds good but it is not realistic.
Let’s say NKR becomes independent and Azeri refuges are allowed to go back. Do you think they can live peacefully next to each other? I do not think so.
What are you going to do when inter-ethnic clashes start? What are you going to do with 500.000 Armenian refuges that were drove out from Azerbaijan? Do you think they want to go back and live with Azeries? I can assure you that many of them do not. Do you think Armenians in NKR that were bombed heavily from Azeris in Shushi will agree to live with those Azeris? Go and ask them, but I already know the answer.
You cannot put those people back in the mess that Stalin has created but placing majority Armenian region under Azeri control. We need to learn lessons from history. History repeats itself and when it does usually it hits harder second time.
I think you should back to Elm Street because that nightmare of your post is really something to laugh about..
You think we are stupid or unaware of your hint of cockiness and sarcasm in your post?
Please get over it… and your deal is absolutely ridiculeous as your screen name..
Have a nice day..
Gayane
Zak is correct in his assertions. The only governmental body within Australia that has the power to make laws pertaining to foreign affairs is the Federal Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia. The declaration by the NSW State Government, whilst purely symbolic, still has a symbolic power in that it is recognition by a government representing a substantial proportion of the Australian population. It’s most certainly not a hollow, empty gesture. And, Ahmet, as for it being an “aboriginal” government, the Aborigines in Australia make up around 2% of the total Australian population..around 440,000 people. Whilst the numbers of Aborigines living in NSW are quite high, it’s less than the state I live :) And, they are hardly a majority of any ethnic/cultural group in any state. There are more Greeks living here than there are Aborigines in Australia. But that makes them no less important. Oh, and as for the Eskimos…ever heard of Nunavut?? Guess not.
As for the declaration not having teeth, that is being worked upon, I can assure you :)
Freddy Krueger, it is good to see that there are people out there willing to think outside the box in terms of resolving the karabak conflict. I personally think it can be resolved only thusly:
1) Roll back the clock to 1988 NKR territory, and give it independence or (to cut through the chase) let it unite with Armenia. Whether or not it used to be part of Azerbaijan does not really matter. For generations, it used to be populated by Armenians. And they will never agree to live in Azerbaijan. The only other alternative is to evict or kill them, which obviously is unacceptable on humanitarian and international political context.
2) 25% of the NKR territory was populated by Azeris, often in islands within Armenians. So, do a land-swipe to make the ARmenian NKR a contigous entity, giving some of the border areas to Azeris.
3) Do another land-swipe for a corridor to connect NKR to Karbak, for a strip connecting Nakchivan to Azerbaijan
4) All other territories, currently occupied by ARmenia as a security buffer and negotiating chip, should be returned to Azerbaijan, because they have thus served their purpose.
5) Deploy some international monitors to ensure implementation.
But of course, the above will never happen. Your Armenians are too hang-up on “Great Armenia” to give up any land, and we Azeris have the same natioanlistic issue.
Until we avenge Gurgen Margaryan Turks and Azeris will continue laughing.
We must wipe that laugh off their faces.
Dear Sella,
How correctly you judge the native Turco Azeris..
Some though here, or elsewhere are of the opinion that we can live with them..what a farce, what an unreal assertion of our relations with those people…and why do I combine both, i.e, turco azeris…
simple enough great Turkey is behind their cousin Axerbaijan and has always been-evn in Aliev Baba*in the kremlin…did you know that..he somehow-through bribing found his way up there and did what he could to oprress the NK Armenians-he spoke good Armenian and was eardropping when two important Armens spoke to ea other in whatever ex soviet union so called meetings what not.
These people…May god keep them away from us. are always hoping they can trap us again throiugh Diarbakir church opening*this by the by is yet another great Turkish trick to get our dumb ones to be proud that they are opening up to us…right…
Not so they should first of all RETURN ALL confiscated churhces, hospitals monasteries etc., beginning from ISTANBULLA, like they were “suggested”to do so by Ms. Hillar Clinto and U.S. Senate,suggesting to them to do so….
They do so only one at a time and that with pomp and cereemony and not directly to us like the Ahtmar not AKHTMAR!!!!
Mr. up above, please go grind your oxydated axe elsewhere…we have by now learnt quite well that Turco Azeris are upt to their very old ottoman inherited tricks.Ways to ONCE AGAIN CONFUSE ERMENIS GET THEM TO COME AND LIVE WITH T HEM AND EAT RAHAT LOOKUM AND SAY , we are brothers and sisters…MY BIG FOOT!!!!!
People who still believe in that ask them to go to Istanbulla and Diarbakira*a concocted up staging of their plays…and live there!!!!
Period.Indeed who -amongst armenians believe in their sincerity let them GO!!!! ..PERIOD forget that we have a re independent Armenian/Artsakh.