COMMEMORATION OF 1915 GENOCIDE OF ARMENIANS
by Tigran Liloyan

ITAR-TASS News Agency
April 24, 2006 Monday

Armenians all over the world are commemorating on Monday their
fellow-countrymen, who were massacred during the 1915 Genocide in
the Osman Turkish Empire.

According to tradition, thousands of people gather at the Memorial
to the Genocide Martyrs in the Yerevan park of “Tsitsernakaberd”. An
eternal fire is burning there in memory of the 1.5 million Armenians
who were massacred in 1915. Similar ceremonies are being held in
several other countries because an Armenian diaspora had appeared on
all the continents of the world after the genocide.

Efforts to get the genocide internationally affirmed and recognised
are among the priority tasks of Armenia’s foreign policy. The first
genocide of the 20th century was affirmed by several countries of the
world and by the European Parliament. It is worth noting that Greece
and France had adopted corresponding laws in this connection. The
Russian State Duma issued a statement in 1995, condemning the Genocide
of the Armenian People.

The Armenian President decreed to award special prizes to people,
known for their outstanding contributions to the cause of getting
the Armenian Genocide affirmed and recognised. The first to get such
prizes were historian Verjine Svaznyan for his book “Armenian Genocide
and Historical Memory of People” and German writer Edgar Hilszenrat
for his novel “The Death Tale”.