ATA-A was formed in 2013 by all of the Australian Turkish Associations all across the country to advocate for a fairer Australia for Turkish Australians.
Australia is the land of new beginnings. Almost everyone living on this continent has an immigrant background. The migrants sailed away from class differences, economical difficulties, conflicts and pains of the past and aimed to live a life free from those obstacles. Although we all have come from many different cultural and religious backgrounds, we know that our society has to put aside the individual differences in the interests of living together as neighbours.
The friendship of Australia and Turkey today is the textbook example of reconciliation after a World War. This was achieved by a visionary man, the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who made “Peace at home, peace in the world” Turkey’s principle foreign policy. The first Turkish migrants came to Australia in early 19th century from Ottoman Empire. But the exodus to Australia started when the Makarios government’s and Greek Junta’s cruel suppression and assimilation policies against Turkish Cypriots escalated during 1960s. In 1967 Australia and Turkey has signed an recruitment agreement allowing Turkish citizens to immigrate to Australia to work. Today there are more than 200,000 Turkish Australians living all across Australia, mainly in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide. The Turkish migrants have since provided a very important skilled work force for Australia’s economic development. They are known for being hardworking and tolerant; besides they are also famous for their hospitality and the legendary Turkish cuisine.
Unfortunately recently Turkish Australians we have experienced a series of smear campaigns and insults by some who distort and aim to rewrite the history for the sake of damaging the friendship between Turkey and Australia and extensively harming our the multicultural society. We lived through this campaign before all over the world and even in Australia which caused the assassination of Turkish Consul-General Mr Sarik Ariyak in Sydney in 1980 and the car bombing attack to Turkey’s Melbourne Consulate in 1986. Armenian terrorist group JCAG, assassinated 42 Turkish Diplomats all around the world until 1986. Although they are few, there are still those amongst us who live with the hatred they brought to Australia from far away , and survive on this hatred, pass it through their generations and define their ethnic identity with it. There are still those who brought up single mindedly without the notions of tolerance, free speech and respect for others. There are still those who celebrates those assassinations against the Turkish Diplomats and praise the terrorists involved in those attacks. We believe that people like these still have the potential of destroying our peaceful multi-cultural / multi-faith / multi-ethnic society.
Australian Turkish Advocacy Alliance Ltd (ATA-A) was formed in 2013 by all of the Australian Turkish Associations all across the country to advocate for a fairer Australia for Turkish Australians and to inform the Australian public of the real truth and the danger behind those hatred fuelled attacks against our community.