Mayor's appeal for Artsakh

Published on 29 August 2023

At the 22 August 2023 City of Ryde Council Meeting it was resolved via a Mayoral Minute that Council establish a ‘Mayor’s Appeal for Artsakh’ to help facilitate urgent humanitarian aid to Armenians living in the self-declared independent republic.

The region, also known as Nagorno-Karabakh, is situated within the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan, in transcontinental Caucasus, between Eastern Europe and West Asia.

It is home to more than 120,000 ethnic Armenians who have been cut off from essential supplies of food and medicine by an illegal blockade of the only road running in and out of the area.

The Azerbaijani enforced blockade, which has been in place since December 2022, has caused a growing humanitarian crisis for Artsakh residents and attracted international condemnation.

Council will donate $1,500 to launch the appeal, which will be run by the Armenian Relief Society of Australia between Friday 1 September and Friday 15 September 2023.

City of Ryde Mayor Clr Sarkis Yedelian OAM said Council had a proud history of supporting the Armenians living in Artsakh.

“City of Ryde is home to a large Armenian-Australian community made up of descendants of the Armenian Genocide, like me, who are deeply concerned by the International Association of Genocide Scholars assessment of the ‘real risk of genocide’ by this deliberate, man-made, humanitarian catastrophe,” he said.

“In 2019, the City of Ryde Council established a sister city relationship with the city of Stepanakert, which is home to most of the Armenians in the region.

“And in April 2022, Council voted unanimously to support the people of Artsakh who were being impacted by attacks by Azerbaijan at the time in violation of a ceasefire agreement.”

Donations to the Mayor’s Appeal for Artsakh can be made by direct deposit to the Armenian Relief Society of Australia.
Account Name: Mayors Appeal ARS Australia
BSB: 062295
Account: 10425848

Alternatively, payments can be made at the City of Ryde Customer Service Centre (located at Top Ryde City shopping centre) by cash, cheque, debit and credit card, or mailed to:

City of Ryde
Att: Mayors Appeal ARS Australia
Locked Bag 2069
North Ryde NSW 1670