PRESS RELEASE
ARMENIAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE OF CANADA
3401 Olivar-Asselin
Montréal, Québec
H4J 1L5
Tél. (514) 334-1299 Fax (514) 334-6853
March 25, 2005
Contacts: Shant Karabajak 514-334-1299
Roupen Kouyoumdjian 514-336-7095
Aris Babikian 416-497-8972
For immediate release:
Cultural Genocide event deemed great success by the Armenian National
Committee of Canada
Montr̩al РThe Armenian National Committee of Canada, the largest
and most influential grass roots Canadian-Armenian political
interest group, has organized a series of events in memory of the
90th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide of 1915. The events are
aimed at the general public and are intended to show the material
and cultural damage caused by the uprooting and destruction of the
Armenians from their homeland of four thousand year.
The first of these events was scheduled for Wednesday, the 23rd of
March at the National Press Club in Ottawa, an exhibit and reception
depicting the tragic and continuous state sponsored destruction
of Armenian architectural treasures in Eastern Anatolia (Turkey of
today). At the same time, it was an opportunity for the A.N.C.C. to
thank all the members of the House of Commons and Senators for making
the recognition of the Armenian Genocide in Canada possible.
Professor Samvel Karapetyan’s research found a wide audience of
Ministers, Members of Parliament, Senators and foreign dignitaries,
among which were the Honourable Stephen Harper, Leader of the
Official Opposition, Mr. Stockwell Day, Foreign Affairs critic of
the Conservative Party of Canada, M. Gilles Duceppe, Leader of the
Bloc Quebecois, Honourable Sen. Raymond Setlakwe, Mr. Lui Temelkovski,
President of the Canada-Armenia Parliamentary Friendship group, as well
as 80 Membres of Parliament and Senators, 20 Embassies presented by
their Ambassadors or representatives. Also notable was Mme Madeleine
Dalphond-Guiral, the Member of Parliament whose efforts lead to the
recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the Canadian House of Commons
in April 2004.
Dr. Girair Basmadjian, President of the Armenian National Committee
of Canada said during the event that “it is very sad that traces of
thousands of years of Armenian civilization are being systematically
wiped out from its cradle”. He latter asked “what can be worse than
the uprooting of an entire nation from its homeland? The annihilation
of its traces from that homeland.”
Present at the event was Prof. Vahakn Dadrian, one of the
world’s foremost experts on the Armenian Genocide, who thanked the
parliamentarians for their commitment to truth and historical justice,
despite undue pressures.
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