One of the world’s most vocal Armenian genocide deniers will make an address at Parliament House in Canberra next week, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC News) reports.
The ABC has learnt that a committee room in Parliament House has been booked by Labor backbencher Laurie Ferguson for a special invitation-only address titled “What happened during 1915–1923?”
The address will be given by Professor Justin McCarthy, an American history professor.
The ABC has seen an invitation to the presentation to be delivered by Professor McCarthy, who campaigns around the world against the recognition of the Armenian genocide.
April 2015 will be a significant month for several nations. While Australia and Turkey commemorate the centenary anniversary of the Gallipoli landing, Armenians will mark a centenary since the start of the darkest chapter of their history.
The ABC reminds that up 22 nation states, including Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Russia and the Vatican, and dozens of state and provincial legislatures around the world, including New South Wales and South Australia, have formally recognized the genocide of Armenians, Pontian Greeks and Christian Assyrians by Turkey between 1915 and 1922.
International bodies such as the World Council of Churches, the Council of Europe, the European Parliament and the International Association of Genocide Scholars have also recognized the genocide.
