CANADIAN HUMAN RIGHTS EVENT REMEMBERS THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
Andrew Moran
Examiner.com
7-Toronto-Headlines-Examiner~y2010m5d9-Canadian-hu man-rights-event-remembers-the-Armenian-genocide
M ay 8 2010
Toronto
Despite rain and chilly weather, Torontonians gathered at the city’s
Yonge-Dundas Square to send their message that they will say no to
genocide, war crimes, racism and violations of human rights.
The current international state of affairs does not look promising
for human rights advocates. There are wars in Afghanistan and Iraq
where hundreds of thousands of civilians have been killed; numerous
dictators oppress their citizens throughout the African continent,
there are a number of slave labor issues in eastern Asian nations
and there are only two classes in most South American countries.
At the Yonge-Dundas Square in downtown Toronto, the Armenian Youth of
Toronto (AYT) organization hosted a free rock concert called United
We Rock!, which promoted human rights throughout the globe.
The concert featured a large number of up and coming artists and
performers, including Aramik, The Transparent, Birds of Wales, Humble
the Poet, One Fell Swoop and others.
The purpose of the concert was to bring awareness and attention to
international human rights that involve war crimes, genocide, racism
and other violations of human rights. The event also commemorated
the 95th anniversary of the Armenian genocide where hundreds of
thousands Armenians were butchered or died of starvation, exhaustion
or epidemics.
"Ultimately, our goal is to facilitate the interaction among the
thinkers and leaders of social justice in our community. Human
rights issues are interrelated and there is a phenomenal potential
for synergy, no one should have to go through it alone, which is why
United We Rock! is about giving each cause the audience it deserves,"
said AYT Chairperson Ara Hasserjian in a press release.
During the seven-hour event, there were booths and vendors providing
information to attendees on the number of charitable organizations
that fight for the rights of others, including Oxfam Canada, STAND
Canada, Genocide Watch & Cambodian Genocide Project, International
Institute for Genocide & Human Rights Studies and others.