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Fairfield Council’s monumental vote 23 Dec 09 @ 08:19am by Carleen Frost
A 4.5m HIGH monument to honour Assyrian genocide victims could be erected as early as May. A police picket line kept members of the Assyrian and Turkish communities apart outside Fairfield council chambers on Tuesday as councillors announced their decision. See video of the reaction to council’s decision and photos of the crowds Afterwards the Assyrian Universal Alliance said construction on the memorial would begin soon. “(The sculpture) will show the hand of a martyr which indicates the people who dedicated their lives to create a better and safe world,” the statement said. Hundreds of people from the Assyrian and Turkish communities were on hand as councillors approved the controversial memorial. The proposal has raised tensions between the Assyrians and the Turks, who have been accused of the genocide during World War I. Almost 50 police officers with dogs and on horses kept the two groups apart outside the meeting as an announcement was made. Councillors approved the monument, but not a proposal to name the surrounding reserve the Garden of Nineveh, after the ancient Assyrian capital. Councillors also imposed six conditions on the proposal. Under the set conditions the monument must be located at a specific spot to be selected by the council and must be funded by the Assyrian Universal Alliance. The alliance must also pay for all routine maintenance at the site, and fund paving the reserve where the monument will stand at the corner of Elizabeth Dr and Smithfield Rd. Turkish spokesman Adem Cetinay, who organised a petition of 800 people opposing the proposal, said he was left crushed after the announcement. The Bossley Park resident said he had no doubt the decision was the result of a political deal, after the usually feisty council passed the plans unanimously and without debate. “This is going to cause a big problem,” he said of the monument. Word of the Assyrian Universal Alliance’s proposal for Bonnyrigg has made headlines across the world with the story appearing on news websites in Israel, Iraq and Turkey.
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