Canada’s capital commemorates Armenian Genocide

20.04.2005 13:49

YEREVAN (YERKIR) – April 2005 marks the 90th anniversary of the first
genocide of the 20th century, the Armenian Genocide of 1915. To mark
this important date and honor the victims of the Armenian Genocide
and the victims of genocides that have tragically continued since
1915, the Diocese of the Armenian Church of Canada held an important
Ecumenical and Interfaith prayer and commemoration service at Notre
Dame Cathedral in Ottawa on Friday night April 15, 2005.

This commemoration was notable and received broad coverage from the
media, including CTV Night News, in depth articles in, The Ottawa
Citizen, interviews on local radio stations and many Ottawa area
community newspapers, including the Ottawa Metro.

Honorable Ed Broadbent, former leader of the New Democratic Party,
first president of the International Human Rights Centre, and current
MP for Ottawa Centre, delivered a powerful speech as the ceremony’s
guest speaker.

Mr. Broadbent conveyed to the congregation that “The massacre of
Armenians in 1915 was a clear undisputed act of genocide. While it is
hard to imagine anything worse than war, genocide is, because people
are selected for systematic murder not for what they have done or
for the territory they occupy ~@” but simply for who they are”.

Spiritual leaders from 28 different Church denominations and Interfaith
groups offered their prayers for the victims of genocide and all
violence. Salutations were also offered by Ven. Dr. Thero Sirisumana
Walasmullage of the Buddhist community of Ottawa, and by Mr. Pon
AdcharaMoorthy of the Hindu Community of Ottawa.

Rabbi Reuven Bulka of the Jewish community of Ottawa provided the
salutation of his community, remarking “As you contemplate the great
evil that was heaped upon your community, you cannot even be offered
the comfort that the world has learned a lesson, and this was the
last genocide. Far from it.

The holocaust unfolded not too long after the Armenian genocide. And
most recently, we know all too well what happened in Rwanda, and what
is happening in Darfur, even as we speak~@¦.We need to say a loud,
thunderous NO to the slightest bigotry, the smallest hate, the most
minute racism.”

Dr. Imam Gamal Suleiman of the Muslim community of Ottawa provided
his prayer that “We should strive to learn the truth about the past
and learn from it, not to create or perpetuate hatreds or build walls
between us but to learn from history, seek forgiveness, cleanse our
hearts, and love other creations of God as our larger family.”

The Primate of the Canadian Diocese of the Armenian Holy Apostolic
Church, His Eminence Bishop Bagrat Galstanian, led the commemoration
service.

The Bishop emphasized that “we are here to join our hands with
the people of good will and raise up our voice against those who
perpetrated the Holocaust, the massacres and ethnic cleansings in
Africa, Poland, the Ukraine, Paraguay, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Rwanda,
East Timor, among other countries, and to say: NEVER AGAIN.”

Bishop Galstanian also proudly stated “we are here not to mourn
but rather to celebrate the martyrdom of a people who has finally
liberated itself from the shackles of a victim and emerged from the
ashes as a victorious nation.”

The service exuded a sense of triumph, and an overwhelming feeling
of hope for the future. One of the few remaining Armenian genocide
survivors, Mrs. Hrachoui Brown, provided a touching and poetic
connection to the tragic past. Mrs. Brown expressed her heartfelt
thanks to Canada for accepting refugees and immigrants and providing
them with a safe and free environment in which to grow and flourish.

Mrs. Brown lit the candles of four young members of the new generation
of Armenians, Chatigne Tachdjian (age 6), Raffi Avedissian (age 7),
Rita Dukmajian (age 10), and Arees Aharonian (age 13). This flame
of remembrance was then passed from these young torchbearers to each
person throughout the church, as the lights in the Church were brought
down to create, a beautiful visual portrait and deep spiritual sense
of peace.

The keynote speaker of the evening was the Archbishop of the Roman
Catholic Archdiocese of Ottawa, His Eminence Marcel Gervais. Archbishop
Gervais echoed the theme of memory and forgiveness, stating that
“~@¦memory can feed vengeance and hatred and it can also support
the resolution that such crimes should never happen again, “never
again” to anyone, anywhere.” The Archbishop also quoted the words of
the late Pope John Paul II, who wrote in his message on World Day of
Peace 2002, ~@~XPeace is essential for development, but true peace is
made possible only through forgiveness~@¦.No peace without justice,
no justice without forgiveness.”

The combination of the presence of the participating spiritual leaders,
the thoughtful messages of the speakers, the candle-lighting ceremony,
and the beautiful ancient Armenian hymns, sung by the choir of
St. Gregory the Illuminator from Montreal left the capacity audience
in the large thousand people Notre Dame Cathedral, contemplating the
history of genocide and a renewed hope for the future.

The Diocese was honoured to have among the invitees, representatives
from some 30 embassies and corresponding number of ethnic community
leaders. Bishop Galstanian acknowledged their participation. Notable
among these was H.E. Ara Papian, Ambassador of Armenia to Canada and
his family.

The ecumenical service in Ottawa is part of a Canada-wide commemoration
campaign organized by the Canadian Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic
Orthodox Church in association with religious figures of many
denominations and faiths. Similar interfaith services will be held
in Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver.

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