A commemoration will be held in Montebello Saturday to mark the 108th anniversary of the start of the events that are widely viewed by scholars as the first genocide of the 20th century.
The commemoration at the Montebello Armenian Genocide Monument in Bicknell Park will begin at 11 a.m. and include a religious ceremony, cultural program, speeches by elected officials and placement of flowers.
The event is organized by the United Armenian Council of Los Angeles.
A rally seeking an immediate end to Azerbaijan’s blockade of the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region is planned for 6 p.m. Sunday outside the Azerbaijan Consulate in Brentwood, organized by Unified Young Armenians, which is also organizing an “Armenian Genocide Commemorative Rally for Justice” at 10 a.m. Monday at the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Western Avenue in Little Armenia.
Glendale will conduct its 22nd annual Armenian Genocide Commemorative Event at 7 p.m. Monday at the Alex Theatre, with the theme, “The Armenian Experience Through the Lens,” celebrating the 100th anniversary of Armenian cinema.
On April 24, 1915, Ottoman authorities arrested Armenian intellectuals and community leaders in Constantinople, leading to an estimated 1.5 million people being killed. Turkey denies the deaths constituted genocide, saying the toll has been inflated and that those killed were victims of civil war and unrest.