FRENSO: NEVER TO FORGET: AN ARMENIAN HERO IS HONORED, AND THE 1915 GENOCIDE IS COMMEMORATED.
By Vanessa Colon / The Fresno Bee
Fresno Bee, CA
April 24 2006
Dozens of Armenian-Americans gathered Sunday to remember their one
true hero: Soghomon Tehlirian.
Many Valley residents, wearing black, gray or dark blue, stopped by the
Masis Ararat Cemetery, where solemn music played, to honor Tehlirian
and commemorate the 91st anniversary of the Armenian genocide.
Tehlirian became a hero for many Armenians on March 15, 1921, when
he assassinated Talaat Pasha, a Turkish official who played a role
in carrying out the genocide between 1915 and 1923.
During that time period, 1.5million Armenians were slaughtered under
the Ottoman Empire. The modern-day republic of Turkey spun out of
the empire.
The Turkish government doesn’t refer to the massive killings as a
genocide. Turkish officials repeatedly have said that thousands of
Turks as well as Armenians died during World WarI.
“Nearly 91 years ago today our parents and grandparents were
slaughtered. … It was not a civil war,” said Ara Kassabian, board
member of the Armenian Cultural Foundation.
Today, Martyrs Day, is a secular holiday that recalls the start of
the killings of Armenians who were arrested and taken from their
homes in Constantinople before dawn on April 24, 1915.
Many families of Armenian heritage will reflect on their past and
take part in activities remembering their ancestors.
Black and white photos of Armenian families, for instance, were
displayed Sunday around Tehlirian’s monument. The memorial features
a golden eagle gripping a snake with its claws.
A few people sat under a blue tent as they watched a group of Boy and
Girl Scouts carry the American and Armenian flags at the beginning
of the ceremony.
Armen S. Martin, an attorney in Los Angeles, said having Turkey and
the United States recognize the genocide remains a struggle.
A patch signifying the Armenian genocide is worn by Nayiri Moumdjian,
18, of Fresno, a member of the Armenian scouting group Fresno
Homenetmen Sassoon Chapter, Troop 12.
Craig Kohlruss / The Fresno Bee Martin said U.S. Ambassador to Armenia
John Evans got into trouble after using the term genocide and believes
Evans could lose his position because of his remarks.
“As Americans we are outraged by this. As Armenians, we are insulted
by this,” Martin said.
Before the ceremony, a priest conducted a service accompanied with
smoky incense and a chorus.
Some of the visitors walked on the grassy grounds reading the stone
slates a few feet away from the monument. Many of them came to the
ceremony to pay their respects to their ancestors who didn’t escape.
“We don’t want our kids to forget,” said 48-year-old Ana Shahinian,
whose grandparents survived the genocide.
Dirouhi Kupelian said her uncles were beheaded during the massive
killings: “Just my father survived. He was 6 or 7 years old.”
Twenty-three-year-old Raffi Birindjian said the youth will keep the
tragic event alive and never forget: “We owe it to their memory
to do whatever we can in our power to bring recognition of the
Armenian genocide. There’s a lot of people out there who don’t know
it occurred.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress