ARMENIANS AROUND THE WORLD MARK 91ST ANNIVERSARY OF THE GENOCIDE

Armenpress
Apr 24 2006

YEREVAN, APRIL 24, ARMENPRESS: Hundreds of thousands of Armenians from
Armenia proper and its vast Diaspora went today uphill to the Genocide
Memorial in Yerevan to remember 1.5 million of their ancestors killed
brutally at the orders of the government of Turkey between 1915-1923.

President Robert Kocharian, Prime Minister Andranik Margarian,
Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II and other top government
officials and senior clergy were the first today to remember the
victims by visiting the Memorial and laying flours to it. The
nationwide minute of silence will be observed at 7 p.m. local time.

On Saturday 22 April, around a thousand Armenians living in the UK
marched from Marble Arch to the Cenotaph in Westminster where a wreath
was laid to draw attention to their demands for the recognition of
the Turkish genocide of 1915-23. The march was one of a number of
events this year organized by the Campaign for the Recognition of
the Armenian Genocide, CRAG, together with other Armenian community
groups. Among those leading the march was Bishop Nathan Hovhanesian,
Primate of the Armenian Church of Great Britain.

Various motions in the British parliament have called upon the
government to take some action. The most recent, sponsored by Stephen
Pound MP, “calls upon the UK and Turkish governments publicly and
officially to recognize the Assyrian and Armenian genocide of 1915”
and for the “UK Government to call on the European Union to make
official Turkish recognition … one of the pre-conditions for
Turkey’s membership of the EU.” So far this has only attracted 38
signatures – only one from a Conservative. Hundreds of Armenians
of Sweden and Swedes gathered on Saturday for commemoration of the
Genocide victims. The commemoration event was organized by Armenian
organizations of Sweden and the Union of Churches.

Klas-Joran Karlson, a professor of Lund University, spoke about
the history of Armenians in the last century with a focus on the
united international efforts for recognition and condemnation of the
Armenian genocide. Ulla Hoffmann, a member of the Swedish parliament,
who paid numerous visits to Armenia, urged European nations to give
their support to Armenia and press for Turkey’s acknowledgment of
the Genocide.

The Nor Seround (New Generation) Armenian organization in Tbilisi,
the capital of neighboring Georgia, and the Armenian Center for
Cooperation of Georgia marched today through the capital’s streets
to the Turkish embassy demanding that Ankara recognizes the Genocide.

A liturgy was also served at Saint Gregory Armenian Church in
Tbilisi in memory of the victims. In the evening the church is
to host a concert of holy music and another march from the church
will be held towards the Armenian-populated Havlabar quarter for a
candle-lit ceremony.

Also on Sunday evening a liturgy was served at the Saint Sarkis
Armenian Church in Tehran with young Armenians gathering around
a memorial to the Genocide to pay homage to its victims. A bigger
ceremony is expected today evening in the Ararat athletic center
in Tehran. Local Iranian newspapers and news agencies have posted
extensive stories and reports about the Armenian genocide.

Extensive events to commemorate the 91st anniversary of the Armenian
genocide began Saturday in California, USA, that hosts the biggest
Armenian community worldwide, after Russia, with a flag-raising
ceremony in Fresno. Commemorations also include church and cemetery
services, vigils and a poetry reading.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress