Published on 05 March 2011
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Written by Emmanuel Brikha
Last Updated on Saturday, 05 March 2011
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Category: Australia
Fairfield City Council is pushing for the wording of the Assyrian Levies/ANZAC memorial to be changed after a formal complaint was made to council.
Assyrian Levies president Gaby Kiwarkis had been called into council for a meeting and told he should make changes to the wording on the plaque because it was mentioning Turkey.
TheAssyrian must note, the plaque was approved more than a year ago with the words currently used. It’s also believed a Councillor is planning to advocate for changes to the words in a council meeting in the near future. The Council also refused to name the Councillor opposed to the Memorial as well as the name of the Alleged Turkish representative who lodge the complaint.
The Assyrian Levies Association has ruled out changing the plaque and told the Council staff to postpone further matters until after the State elections in March because the Association believe the attack is political.
“It remains to be seen if Fairfield council will do the honorable thing and replace the plaque as it was with security measures or will they condone unlawful activities and replace it with one that appeases the criminal”, said Mr Kiwarkis.
Below is the full statement made by The Assyrian Levies Association to TheAssyrian News.
I regret to announce the Assyrian Levies ANZAC Memorial Plaque has been forcefully removed from its location by unknown persons. This comes after I received a call four weeks ago from Fairfield council to attend a meeting with a council officer. In the meeting the officer said a Turkish representative has made complaints about the Plaque and asked for changes of the wording and he agreed it should be changed, specifically he wanted all reference to Turkey removed, he also said that a councillor will advocate for changes in a council meeting. He refused to name the councillor or the Turkish representative but from my inquiries I found he was not a Liberal Party councillor.
My response was that I would not agree to any changes and the matter should not be dealt with in any way until after the state election lest the reasons behind this change be political, the councillor agreed and the meeting concluded.
This criminal act was committed a few days ago with several weeks left for the election, I have reported the matter to police and an investigation is under way.
The plaque honors Assyrian Allied veterans of both world wars, it honors the ANZAC’s and Australian Lt General Sir Stanley Savige who in 1918 as a captain remained with the Assyrian refugees who fled Urmia and directed them to Hamadan and safety.
The process of erecting the Memorial was proper and approval was given by Fairfield council, final approval was asked for and was given the day before the unveiling in November 2009. The Australian Army also approved the Memorial and stood Armed Honor Guard on the day of the unveiling, The General’s family also gave their approval and were present on the day. It has been standing for the past 16 months without opposition until recently.
It remains to be seen if Fairfield council will do the honorable thing and replace the plaque as it was with security measures or will they condone unlawful activities and replace it with one that appeases the criminal.
Gaby Kiwarkis
Assyrian Levies Association
Fairfield City Council is pushing for the wording of the Assyrian Levies/ANZAC memorial to be changed after a formal complaint was made to council.
Assyrian Levies president Gaby Kiwarkis had been called into council for a meeting and told he should make changes to the wording on the plaque because it was mentioning Turkey.
TheAssyrian must note, the plaque was approved more than a year ago with the words currently used. It’s also believed a Councillor is planning to advocate for changes to the words in a council meeting in the near future. The Council also refused to name the Councillor opposed to the Memorial as well as the name of the Alleged Turkish representative who lodge the complaint.
The Assyrian Levies Association has ruled out changing the plaque and told the Council staff to postpone further matters until after the State elections in March because the Association believe the attack is political.
“It remains to be seen if Fairfield council will do the honorable thing and replace the plaque as it was with security measures or will they condone unlawful activities and replace it with one that appeases the criminal”, said Mr Kiwarkis.
Below is the full statement made by The Assyrian Levies Association to TheAssyrian News.
I regret to announce the Assyrian Levies ANZAC Memorial Plaque has been forcefully removed from its location by unknown persons. This comes after I received a call four weeks ago from Fairfield council to attend a meeting with a council officer. In the meeting the officer said a Turkish representative has made complaints about the Plaque and asked for changes of the wording and he agreed it should be changed, specifically he wanted all reference to Turkey removed, he also said that a councillor will advocate for changes in a council meeting. He refused to name the councillor or the Turkish representative but from my inquiries I found he was not a Liberal Party councillor.
My response was that I would not agree to any changes and the matter should not be dealt with in any way until after the state election lest the reasons behind this change be political, the councillor agreed and the meeting concluded.
This criminal act was committed a few days ago with several weeks left for the election, I have reported the matter to police and an investigation is under way.
The plaque honors Assyrian Allied veterans of both world wars, it honors the ANZAC’s and Australian Lt General Sir Stanley Savige who in 1918 as a captain remained with the Assyrian refugees who fled Urmia and directed them to Hamadan and safety.
The process of erecting the Memorial was proper and approval was given by Fairfield council, final approval was asked for and was given the day before the unveiling in November 2009. The Australian Army also approved the Memorial and stood Armed Honor Guard on the day of the unveiling, The General’s family also gave their approval and were present on the day. It has been standing for the past 16 months without opposition until recently.
It remains to be seen if Fairfield council will do the honorable thing and replace the plaque as it was with security measures or will they condone unlawful activities and replace it with one that appeases the criminal.
Gaby Kiwarkis
Assyrian Levies Association
Fairfield City Council is pushing for the wording of the Assyrian Levies/ANZAC memorial to be changed after a formal complaint was made to council.
Assyrian Levies president Gaby Kiwarkis had been called into council for a meeting and told he should make changes to the wording on the plaque because it was mentioning Turkey.
TheAssyrian must note, the plaque was approved more than a year ago with the words currently used. It’s also believed a Councillor is planning to advocate for changes to the words in a council meeting in the near future. The Council also refused to name the Councillor opposed to the Memorial as well as the name of the Alleged Turkish representative who lodge the complaint.
The Assyrian Levies Association has ruled out changing the plaque and told the Council staff to postpone further matters until after the State elections in March because the Association believe the attack is political.
“It remains to be seen if Fairfield council will do the honorable thing and replace the plaque as it was with security measures or will they condone unlawful activities and replace it with one that appeases the criminal”, said Mr Kiwarkis.
Below is the full statement made by The Assyrian Levies Association to TheAssyrian News.
I regret to announce the Assyrian Levies ANZAC Memorial Plaque has been forcefully removed from its location by unknown persons. This comes after I received a call four weeks ago from Fairfield council to attend a meeting with a council officer. In the meeting the officer said a Turkish representative has made complaints about the Plaque and asked for changes of the wording and he agreed it should be changed, specifically he wanted all reference to Turkey removed, he also said that a councillor will advocate for changes in a council meeting. He refused to name the councillor or the Turkish representative but from my inquiries I found he was not a Liberal Party councillor.
My response was that I would not agree to any changes and the matter should not be dealt with in any way until after the state election lest the reasons behind this change be political, the councillor agreed and the meeting concluded.
This criminal act was committed a few days ago with several weeks left for the election, I have reported the matter to police and an investigation is under way.
The plaque honors Assyrian Allied veterans of both world wars, it honors the ANZAC’s and Australian Lt General Sir Stanley Savige who in 1918 as a captain remained with the Assyrian refugees who fled Urmia and directed them to Hamadan and safety.
The process of erecting the Memorial was proper and approval was given by Fairfield council, final approval was asked for and was given the day before the unveiling in November 2009. The Australian Army also approved the Memorial and stood Armed Honor Guard on the day of the unveiling, The General’s family also gave their approval and were present on the day. It has been standing for the past 16 months without opposition until recently.
It remains to be seen if Fairfield council will do the honorable thing and replace the plaque as it was with security measures or will they condone unlawful activities and replace it with one that appeases the criminal.
Gaby Kiwarkis
Assyrian Levies Association
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