Armenians mark the Day of Genocide Victims

Yesterday, on April 24, on Day of victims of Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire of 1915-1922, all towns of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh and of foreign countries, where the Armenian Diaspora resides, held mourning ceremonies.

Residents of Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh and representatives of the Armenian Diaspora traditionally mark the day of April 24 as the Day to honour memory of victims of the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire in 1915-1923.

The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports that the procession to the memorial to the victims of the Armenian Genocide in Tsitsernakaberd in Yerevan began in the early morning of April 24 and lasted all the day; people laid flowers and wreaths at the Eternal Flame.

At 11:00 a.m. local time, President Serzh Sargsyan and his wife, Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisyan, Arthur Bagdasaryan, Security Council Secretary, Gagik Arutyunyan, Chairman of the Constitutional Court, MPs, government officials, and representatives of accredited foreign diplomatic missions in Armenia came to pay tribute to the memory of the victims of the Genocide. Garegin II, Catholicos of All Armenians, held a funeral liturgy for the innocent victims killed in 1915.

Let us remind you that at night of April 24, Yerevan and other cities of the country held mourning torch-light processions to honour the memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Turkey and mark the 97th anniversary of that tragedy.

On April 24, public events were also held in the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh. On the day before, in the evening of April 23, the city of Stepanakert also held a torch-light procession and a rally to honour the memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire. The events were organized by the youth wing of the "Dashnaktsutyun" of Artsakh (Karabakh) and the Student Union of "Aram Manukyan".

Mourning events were also organized in Los Angeles, Kiev, Paris, Lyon, Prague, Athens, Amsterdam, and other cities around the world.

Thus, on April 23, under initiative and support of the cultural centre "Aiartun" under the Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Georgia and the Armenian public organizations, a peace rally was held in front of the Parliament of Georgia. Participants of the rally carrying posters reading: "No Genocide" and "Armenian Metz Yegern 97" organized in the centre of Tbilisi a flash mob, with construction of a cross of candles and silent performance of a national dance. After that, the participants of the rally handed over to the Parliament of Georgia appeals to each MP individually to recognize and condemn the Armenian Genocide.

The next anniversary of the Genocide was widely marked by Armenians residing in South America. On April 22, Sao Paulo (Brazil) hosted a peaceful march along the central Paulista Avenue. On April 24, the Armenian Cathedral of Buenos Aires (Argentina) held a special liturgy, and in the evening, Armenian youth held a protest action in front of the residence of the Ambassador of Turkey.

Uruguay held school events, laying of wreaths to the monuments, the event in one of the halls of the Senate, where Vice-President Danilo Astori delivered his speech, and the traditional rally in Armenia Square, where Luis Almagr, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Uruguay, addressed the audience on behalf of the executive authorities of the country, the "Armenia Today" reports.

On April 24, in Damascus, the Saint Sargis Armenian Church held a liturgy to honour the memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide of 1915. Then, people went to the memorial in the Armenian cemetery. In the evening, Damascus hosted two events, at which lectures on the Armenian Genocide were read.

On April 24, thousands of people marched in Hollywood to honour the memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide. Participants of the march, organized by the Armenian Youth Federation, carried flags and posters and marched through Hollywood and along Sunset Boulevard, the "PanARMENIAN.Net" reports. In the afternoon, a protest action in front of the Turkish Consulate was organized there.

In the morning of April 24, the Surb Grigor Lusavorich Cathedral in Antelias (Lebanon) held a solemn liturgy and then a memorial service to honour the memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide, the "NEWS.am" reports with reference to the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Armenia. After that, thousands of people marched in protest from the Cathedral of Antelias to the Turkish Embassy.

On April 24, in Istanbul, the Committee against Genocide and Discrimination of the Assembly of Human Rights organized an event to honour the memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide. Members of the Committee paid tribute to the victims in front of the Museum of Turkish-Islamic monuments, which in 1915 prison, in which the arrested Armenian intellectuals were kept, located. During the event, the participants of the action also visited the grave of Sevak Balykchi, the Armenian soldier, who was murdered on April 24, 2011, and went to the monument of Armenian poet Daniel Varuzhan.

Yesterday, on April 24, the memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide was also honoured in many regions of Russia, particularly, in Moscow, Volgograd, Rostov-on-Don, Krasnodar, Sochi, Tver, and other cities.

At present, more than 20 countries around the world have recognized the Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Turkey, including Canada, Argentina, Switzerland, Russia, Sweden, Belgium, France, Poland, Slovakia, the Netherlands, Uruguay, Greece, Cyprus, Vatican and others, and 44 US states. The Turkish party has its own view on the events of 1915. The MFA of Turkey states that "experts can study the common history of Turkish and Armenian nations only on the basis of impartial scientific evidences."