Thursday, 19 October 2023

 Ann-Marie HERMANS (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (09:51): This morning I want to speak about empathy and human understanding. I want to thank my constituents for their countless emails – people who have Palestinian families and friends in Gaza and who are grieving and angry at this time. I also grieve for the people of Palestine, who have no way out should they wish to leave and decimated homes and loved ones lost. My thoughts and deepest sympathies are with you too. I have received concerns about the comments I made from my observations about the border town of Goris, Armenia, as thousands of Armenians fled their homeland. Armenians have spoken about atrocities: door-to-door raping, abductions, cruel killings and torture of parents and children. These were videoed and posted to terrorise others. These cruelties are strikingly similar to the terrorist images in Gaza and Israel. I am absolutely not accusing Azerbaijan officials of these violations of human rights, but that does not change what has happened. There is no place in this world for such human cruelty and violation of human rights. I send my deepest sympathies and thoughts to the Armenians and the Israelites, who have suffered and are suffering, and I think of the hostages and harmed people and the fear of the Jewish and Armenian people in our state at this time. I grieve with you.