BAKO SAHAKYAN’S ADDRESS TO COMMEMORATE GENOCIDE VICTIMS

Panorama.am
24/04/2010

On 24 April President of the Artsakh Republic Bako Sahakyan sent
an address in connection with the 1915 Genocide victim day, Artsakh
President’s press service reported.

The address runs as follows: "Dear compatriots, 95 years ago
a monstrous and unprecedented crime, the Armenian Genocide, was
committed. It was the first genocide of the 20th century; millions of
Armenians fall a victim to this, thousands of Armenian churches and
monasteries, schools and colleges were plundered, a unique civilization
was destroyed. The Armenian nation was deprived from the great part
of its historical Motherland and spread all over the world.

For our people these 95 years have been the years of struggle and
creation, survival and restoration of historical justice. However,
we have not been alone in this struggle; the progressive mankind
has been standing side by side with us. We are grateful to all those
who gave a helping hand and shelter to the refugee Armenians having
escaped from slaughter.

Many countries have recognized and condemned the Genocide. It is
important both for us and the whole mankind because in this way future
massacres could be prevented and excluded. Impunity is an evil in
itself generating new crimes. The Jewish Holocaust organized by the
Nazis, Armenian pogroms in Sumgait, Baku and a number of other crimes
are just a few testimonies of that.

Dear friends, Today be bow our heads to the memory of innocent
victims of the Genocide. The best way to immortalize their memory is
to build independent and powerful statehood, to further strengthen
the Armenia-Artsakh-Diaspora trinity realizing nationwide programs
and goals. Every single Armenian must do everything possible to make
our Motherland powerful and invincible, flourishing and prosperous".