Thousands of Armenians encircle mountain in historic celebratory dance

.c The Associated Press

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) – Hundreds of thousands of Armenians joined
hands to encircle the tiny Caucasus nation’s highest mountain
Saturday, in a dance of unity to celebrate the country’s founding and
other historic events.

More than 150,000 people, including President Robert Kocharian, danced
for about 15 minutes in a massive, 165-kilometer (100-mile) circle
along the roads surrounding Mount Aragats, about 60 kilometers (40
miles) north of the capital, Yerevan, officials said.

Participants – many of whom wore orange-colored caps to symbolize the
colors of the country’s flag – applauded as air force fighter jets
flew overhead.

“I’m very happy to be dancing with my own people,” said Anna
Pogosyan, 55, who traveled from California to participate.

“This feeling of unity with my own people – it’s a feeling that we
don’t have enough of among the diaspora,” said Gevork Khachatrayan,
37, of Marseille, France.

The dance marks, among other events, the anniversary of the founding
of the First Republic of Armenia in 1918 and the 90th anniversary of
the mass killings of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire.

Armenians and many historians say nearly 1.5 million Armenians died in
the killings, which they say was a deliberate campaign of genocide.

Turkey has acknowledged many Armenians died in the events that began
in April 1915, but denies genocide was committed.

05/28/05 08:20 EDT

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress