APRIL 24: DAY OF MOURNING AND COMMEMORATION

Panorama.am
15:06 31/03/2009

A special committee was formed in Constantinople, in March 1919, by
a group of Ottoman Armenian intellectuals who survived the Armenian
Genocide. The main goal of this committee was the organization of
commemoration ceremonies dedicated to the 4th anniversary of the
Armenian Genocide. The committee, known as "The April 11th Board
of Ceremonial Mourning" consisted of 13 members including Yevphime
Avetisian, Zaruhi Galamkarian, Mari Stambulian, Perchuhi Parsamian,
Miss Arpiar, Tigran Zaven, Merujan Parsamyan, Hakob Siruni, Gevorg
Mesrop, Tagvor Suqiasian, Dr. Barsegh Tinanian, Shahan Perperian and
Hovhannes Poghosian.

Due to the efforts of these people the memory of the victims
of Armenian Genocide was commemorated among the Armenians of
Constantinople for the first time in 1919. Armenian writer, publicist
and public figure Hakob Siruni wrote in his memoirs: "The mourning
ceremony became a tradition. Since then, the 24th of April was adopted
as a symbol of mourning."

Since the first commemoration of the Armenian Genocide victims in
Istanbul, April 24 officially was adopted as "Day of Mourning and
Commemoration".