A tragedy they will never forget
By DAVID SILVERSTEIN, Sun Staff

Lowell Sun, MA
April 23 2006

LOWELL — As he stood at City Hall, the plackard Joseph Dagdigian was
holding didn’t offer a pleasant picture. Though cartoonish, there was
nothing funny about the female figure depicted at the forefront of a
long procession, cradling in her arms the apparently lifeless form of
an infant. Tragedy was portrayed through the picture — a tragedy
Armenian-Americans throughout Greater Lowell came to remember.

Yesterday, city and state officials, as well as members of the
Armenian-American community, gathered in downtown Lowell to
commemerate the 91st anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

On April 24, 1915, the Ottoman Turks, who were then in power over a
large portion of Eastern Europe, initiated a systematic cleansing of
their population by rounding up and either murdering or deporting any
Armenian residing within their borders. This movement began with the
execution of Armenian intellectuals, including educators, religious
figures, and other social leaders, but was soon extended to the
general population. About 1.5 million Armenians were murdered and
nearly 500,000 were forced to flee their homeland.

Yesterday, a crowd of about 50 people, both young and old, gathered
beneath a chilly gray sky and formed a small procession. Led by an
honor guard of Armenian-American veterans, they marched from the
intersection of Merrimack and John streets to City Hall.

Following addresses from state Sen. Steven Panagiotakos, Armenian
National Committee representative Tom Vartabedian, Mayor Bill Martin,
the Rev. Vartan Kasabian of St. Gregory Armenian Church in North
Andover and several others, a flag-raising ceremony took place.

According to a pamphlet passed out by Joseph Dagdigian, a member of
the Merrimack Valley Chapter of the Armenian National Committee, the
Turkish government refuses to formally acknowledge that these murders
were an act of genocide. As part of this ongoing denial, the pamphlet
says the Turkish government pursues a bevy of avenues, including
paying lobbyists in Washington, D.C., to help maintain their image
and prevent others from recognizing the genocide. The U.S.
government, the flier said, conceded to Turkish influence because it
couldn’t afford to lose the air bases in Asia Minor during the Cold
War.

In his address to the assembly, Vartabedian said, “When tragedies of
this magnitude occur, it is our responsibility to ensure that we do
not forget.”

Currently, legislative measures that would officially recognize the
genocide and create a formal day of remembrance are pending in both
the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. These measures, which
have the support of prominent scholars, writers and religious
leaders, as well as a number of Armenian organizations, are called
the Armenian Genocide Resolution.