CANBERRA — On Monday, June 3, members from the Australian House of Representatives debated a historic first-ever motion on the Republic of Artsakh, and the MPs unanimously slammed Azerbaijan’s 24-hour military attack against Artsakh and called on Azerbaijan to implement several pro-Armenian measures, reported the Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU).
The motion, championed by Member for Bradfield and Co-Chair of the Australia-Armenia Inter-Parliamentary Union, Paul Fletcher MP, was debated in the Australian Parliament’s Federation Chamber with four speakers, including Member for Bennelong Jerome Laxale MP, Member for Beam David Smith MP, and Member for Mackellar, Dr. Sophie Scamps. All speakers supported the motion.
All four speakers spoke in favor of the motion during the 20-minute debate, unequivocally calling out Azerbaijan’s 24-hour military assault and urging Azerbaijan to release all Armenian political prisoners, allow the right of return for Armenian refugees to Artsakh under international guarantees, to protect Armenian cultural heritage, and for Azerbaijan to withdraw from the sovereign borders of the Republic of Armenia.
In commencing the debate, Fletcher said, “I rise to express my support for the rights to self-determination of the Armenian people in Nagorno Karabakh and the Republic of Artsakh. I condemn the unconscionable attack by Azerbaijan in September 2022, which has caused untold misery and has driven almost all Armenians who formerly lived in Nagorno-Karabakh from their homes.”
Fletcher called on Australia to take a firmer stance to “call for the removal of Azerbaijani troops from the sovereign borders of Armenia, the right of return for Armenians to Artsakh, the right of return of all Armenian citizens and for Azerbaijan to cease its erasure of the Armenian presence in the region”.
Jerome Laxale, who seconded the motion and is representative of the largest Armenian-Australian community in the country, spoke strongly in support of the motion and said: “The actions of Azerbaijan are ongoing, senseless and unprovoked. They have and continue to cause immense suffering and displacement, and they need to know the world is watching.”
