“One of the few non-Armenians to speak about the Armenian genocide”

December 1, 2019 by J-Wire Newsdesk
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The Armenian community held a minute’s silence in honour of Genocide and Shoah scholar, Prof Colin Tatz – acknowledging his life-long role in fighting for the recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

Colin Tatz

The Armenian National Committee (ANC) of Australia at its Gala Banquet held a minute’s silence for Prof Tatz and Prof Vahakn Dadrian – an American-Armenian sociologist and historian who died in August and was also an expert in genocide and the Armenian genocide.

The event was attended by more than 300 people, including NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, Federal Shadow Home Affairs Minister and Senator Kristina Keneally, Federal Shadow Agriculture Minister Joel Fitzgibbon, Federal North Sydney MP Trent Zimmerman, Federal Goldstein MP, Mr Tim Wilson, NSW Upper House MP Rev Fred Nile,  NSW Parliament Speaker and Davidson MP Jonathan O’Dea and NSW Shadow Treasurer Walt Secord.  Mr O’Dea and Mr Secord are the NSW Parliamentary Friends of Armenia, chair and deputy chair respectively.

It was the largest annual gathering of the NSW Armenian community.

Armenian National Committee of Australia board member Sassoon Grigorian praised the contribution of Prof Tatz and his importance to the Armenian community saying that he was at the forefront of the fight for recognition of the Armenian genocide.

Sassoon Grigorian

At the event, Mr Grigorian also reflected on that when he was a student at Macquarie University in the 1990s, Prof Tatz was “one of the few non-Armenians to speak about the Armenian genocide”.

“Prof Colin Tatz never took a backward step in the fight against those who denied genocide, especially, the Armenian Genocide and the Shoah,” Mr Grigorian said.

In the NSW State Parliament on November 21, NSW Shadow Treasurer Walt Secord paid tribute to the late-Prof Colin Tatz – saying he was a pioneer in genocide and Aboriginal studies.

Mr Secord who is also deputy chair of the NSW Parliamentary Friends of Israel said that there was genuine warmth and affection within the Armenian community for the late-Prof Tatz.

“Prof Tatz will be deeply missed by the Armenian community. In fact, individual members of the Armenian community attended Prof Tatz’s funeral on November 24 – as well as their official communal representatives,” Mr Secord said.

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