UNVEILING OF A WELSH NATIONAL MONUMENT TO THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

armradio.am
02.11.2007 10:41

Several hundred Armenians from across the UK will gather at the
Temple of Peace, Cardiff at 1.00 p.m. on the 3rd of November for the
unveiling of the first public monument to the Armenian Genocide in
the United Kingdom.

Permission has been granted by the United Nations Association Wales
and the monument will stand on land owned by the National Assembly of
Wales. The monument will be unveiled by the Presiding Officer of the
National Assembly, Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas and the Armenian Ambassador,
Dr Vahe Gabrielyan.

Welsh and Armenian choirs will take part as well as Armenian
dancers. Canon Patrick Thomas, a well known Welsh writer, will
speak on "Armenia and Wales" and Mike Joseph, a highly respected
Welsh-Jewish historian and academic will speak on Aneurin Williams MP,
the Welsh lobbyist for Armenia in Parliament during the time of the
Genocide. Prayers will be said in Welsh, Armenian and Aramean.

The Monument is a "thank you" to the people of Wales for the
Recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the political cultural and
religious representatives of the nation.

Wales has distinguished itself by being the first country within the
UK to recognize the Armenian Genocide at both national and regional
levels.

This event is unique for a number of reasons.

This is the first time a plot of land has been allocated in a public
area within the UK for a memorial to the victims of the Armenian
Genocide.

The stone is Welsh, the design is Armenian, the stonemason is Welsh
and the inscription is by the hand of a Bishop of the Armenian
Apostolic Church.

The commemorative words are in Welsh, Armenian and English.