ARMENIA STOPS TO REMEMBER 1915 MASSACRE
Tamsin Carlisle

The National
rticle?AID=/20100426/FOREIGN/704259878/1135
April 26 2010
UAE

Armenia’s president Serzh Sarkistan, centre right, his wife Rita
and the Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II attend the ceremony
marking the anniversary. Davit Hakobyan / AFP / Panarmenian Photo

YEREVAN // It nearly always rains on April 24, say residents of
the Armenian capital who host an annual pilgrimage of hundreds of
thousands of their countrymen and international visitors to a monument
on a hilltop overlooking the city.

The pilgrims come to pay respect to the victims of mass killings of
Armenians by Ottoman Turks, as Armenia marks its Remembrance Day as
a solemn anniversary of the beginning of the 1915 massacre.

True to form, the overcast sky on Saturday contributed bone-chilling
drizzle to the sombre mood of the massacre’s 95th anniversary. This
failed to deter rain-soaked visitors from depositing a mass of red and
white flowers in the inner sanctum of the starkly sculpted monument.

Most of those paying tribute bore umbrellas. A few carried banners
with messages such as "Nobody and nothing will be forgotten!"

One elderly woman stood by the "eternal flame" at the monument’s
heart while holding a placard featuring a portrait of Hrant Dink. The
Turkish-Armenian newspaper editor was murdered in Istanbul in 2007
after criticising the Turkish government’s denial of the massacre and
the Armenian diaspora’s campaign for its international recognition as
"genocide". The placard’s slogan "1.5 million + 1" referred in turn
to the 1.5 million Armenians whom historians estimate were killed
nearly a century ago and Dink’s alleged assassination at the hands
of Ogun Samast, 17, a Turkish nationalist.

The steady stream of international dignitaries, ordinary Armenian
citizens and diaspora visitors who filed past the flame during the
24-hour remembrance period underscored the depth of feeling still
stirred by the memory of the genocide itself and Turkey’s refusal to
recognise it.

On the equally rainy eve of the commemoration, thousands of
torch-bearing demonstrators in Yerevan streamed uphill on an annual
eight-kilometre march to the monument. They chanted "Janavin!" –
Armenian for "recognition".

"This is a huge part of history that the world should recognise,"
said Zak Valladian, 31, a Dubai-born Armenian from the diaspora who
moved back to Yerevan last year.

Mr Valladian, who made an annual Remembrance Day pilgrimage to Yerevan
while living in the UAE, said Armenians from the republic regard
the commemoration differently from their diaspora cousins. "Before,
I was angry. But here, it’s a way to celebrate that we are still here,
and hopefully will soon get some closure."

To date, 18 countries, of which Russia, Cyprus and Lebanon are
geographically the closest to Armenia, have recognised the killings
as genocide. Sweden was the latest, after its parliament narrowly
passed a resolution on the issue in March.

The US president, Barack Obama, promised during his 2008 election
campaign to refer to the Armenian genocide as such.

For the past two years, however, he has stopped short of that. On
Saturday, Mr Obama again described the slaughter as "one of the worst
atrocities of the 20th century", referring to it as "Meds Yeghern",
an Armenian phrase usually translated as "Great Crime" or "Great
Catastrophe".

"The indomitable spirit of the Armenian people is a lasting triumph
over those who set out to destroy them," Mr Obama added in a statement.

Turkey, which closed its border with Armenia in 1993, has warned
Washington of diplomatic repercussions if the US Congress passes a
resolution to brand the incident a genocide.

The full House of Representatives has yet to schedule a vote.

In an address to the nation, the Armenian president, Serzh Sarkisian,
described the mass slaying as "unprecedented in its scope, monstrosity
and graveness of its consequences".

"We are grateful to all those in many countries, including Turkey,
who understand the importance of averting crimes against humanity,"
he said.

Remembrance Day is a public holiday in Armenia, and most shops and
restaurants are closed until 1pm. As businesses were starting to open
in Yerevan, the sun broke through the clouds.