DLP praises broadcaster on Armenian genocide issue
Media Release 22 April 2010
“If there had been an Alan Jones on radio in 1915, there would never have been an Armenian genocide.”
Interviews: Tony Zegenhagen 0415 459 322
Queensland's DLP Senate Team leader Tony Zegenhagen has praised Sydney-based broadcaster Alan Jones AO for taking up the issue of the genocide inflicted on the Armenian people by the Ottoman empire.
Beginning on 24 April 1915, between a million and a million and a half Armenians were murdered, mostly by the Turkish Army, and mostly in the course of forced marches into the desert without adequate water or food. This atrocity had a shocking and permanent impact on a small nation, and also resulted in hundreds of thousands of other Armenians fleeing their ancestral homes to create the world-wide Armenian diaspora.
Tony Zegenhagen said: "At this time of the year Australians and New Zealanders properly concentrate their attention upon honouring the heroism and sacrifice of the ANZACs and all their successors. It is a good thing to remember that the ANZACs were bravely fighting a foe which was simultaneously committing a terrible crime against the helpless Armenians, and also against lesser numbers of Assyrians and Greeks."
"On Saturday 24 April, the day before Anzac Day, Armenians around the world will commemorate the 95th anniversary of this terrible event. Most Australians know at least one family of Armenian ancestry. Please spare a kind word."
Mr Zegenhagen said "I want to commend broadcaster Alan Jones AO of Radio 2GB in Sydney, whose breakfast program is carried by several Queensland regional stations. This morning Wednesday 22 April 2010, Alan Jones took up the issue of the Armenian Genocide in a well-researched and forthright fashion. I am optimistic that more Queensland radio stations will soon carry the Alan Jones program."
