MAYOR ANTONIO R. VILLARAIGOSA
City of Los Angeles
200 N. Spring St. Room 303
Los Angeles, CA 90012

PRESS RELEASE
April 24, 2007

Contact: Areen Ibranossian
213-922-9781

STATEMENT OF MAYOR ANTONIO VILLARAIGOSA ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
REMEMBRANCE DAY

LOS ANGELES – Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa made the following statement
today regarding Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day:

"Today – on the 92nd anniversary of the beginning of the Armenian
Genocide – the people of Los Angeles stand in solidarity with Armenians
around the world in remembering the 1.5 million Armenian men, women and
children barbarically killed by the Ottoman Empire.

"Almost a century of history has removed the horrors of the genocide
from our immediate collective consciousness. And yet as the
assassination of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink reminded us in
January, the pernicious threat of genocide denial still openly thrives
around the world.

"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."

Areen Ibranossian
Policy Analyst
Office of Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa