ARMENIAN GENOCIDE REMEMBRANCE
By Dan Sanchez – Epoch Times Los Angeles Staff
Epoch Times, NY
April 27 2007
LOS ANGELES¯The Armenian genocide of 1915 is remembered annually on
April 24 in many cities of the United States and worldwide. Many
commemoration events were held here locally, including Glendale,
Hollywood, and Burbank where many American-Armenians live.
On the eve of April 24, a commemoration event was held in Montebello
at the site of the Armenian Martyrs Memorial Monument at Bicknell Park
next to the Montebello golf course. The tall, esthetically pleasing
monument was erected almost 40 years ago in 1968. A plaque inside
the monument states that it was "dedicated to the 1,500,000 Armenian
victims of the Genocide perpetrated by the Turkish government from
1915-1921 and to men of all nations who have fallen victim to crimes
against humanity."
April 24 marks the 92nd anniversary when orders were given by the
Turkish government to begin the first modern-day genocide of the
twentieth century.
A protest was conducted on this day beginning at 4:00 p.m. in front
of the Turkish Consulate at 6300 Wilshire Boulevard, one block west
of Fairfax Avenue. It was a vocal but peaceful crowd marching with
banners and placards.
Ani Garibyan, a media representative of the Armenian Youth Federation
(AYF), Glendale chapter, said, "The Turkish Consulate does not care
about this demonstration and says that the Genocide did not take
place. But it is important for us to continue doing this year by year
so that our youth can remember what happened 92 years ago."
"Well, as usual the Turkish government denies everything and says
that it never happened, which is what angers us the most at this
point. Our ancestors were slaughtered at the hands of the Ottoman
Empire which is now the Turkish government," said Mary Ashdjian,
an advisor on the Executive Board of the AYF.
"They have also been involved in recent human rights violations such
as the three writers that were killed for just writing a bible and
publishing it. A couple of months ago, Hrant Dink was assassinated
in front of his own newspaper building for speaking the truth about
the Armenian Genocide. So obviously, Turkey has serious human rights
issues. We are trying to educate as many people about this as possible,
because if you don’t accept your past, it is bound to repeat itself. It
is still happening today in Darfur as well as in Turkey. And we want
it to stop," said Ashdjian.
"Currently there are 191 co-sponsors of House Resolution 106 which
calls upon the President and U.S. foreign policy to recognize issues
related to human rights, ethnic cleansing, and genocide documented
in U.S. records as well as the record of the U.S. relief efforts and
humanitarian aid during the Armenian Genocide," said Andrew Kazurian,
representing the Armenian National Committee, Western Region.
"We are very confident that the Speaker in due course will call it
for a vote. The democrats have a majority and Speaker Pelosi has been
a friend to the Armenian community for a very long time. And we are
very confident in our relationship with the Speaker," said Kazurian.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa issued a statement in support of the
commemoration and said, "As Mayor of America’s preeminent Armenian
community, I urge all Angelenos to reflect not only on the vast scale
and ruthlessness of the genocide, but on the horror of the global
silence under which it took place. Today I urge Angelenos to simply
never forget."
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