The Jerusalem Post
Apr. 24, 2005 18:59
Armenians mark 90th anniversary of genocide
By SARA FISCHER
;cid=111 4322082590
Armenian demonstration in front of Turkish Consulate in Jerusalem
Photo: Sara Fischer
While many gathered with family and friends to celebrate freedom from
tyranny this Pessah, Israel’s small Armenian community remembered the
fateful years of the Armenian genocide.
Armenians gathered outside the Turkish Consulate in the Sheikh Jarrah
neighborhood of Jerusalem on Sunday to demonstrate against Turkey and
remember the massacre of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians, which took
place 90 years ago. The demonstrators urged Ankara to acknowledge the
violent events under Ottoman rule.
Officially, Turkey today says that 300,000 Armenians and thousands of Turks
died during civil strife. Ankara earlier this month called for the two
countries to jointly research the killings.
Turkey, which has no diplomatic ties with Armenia, is facing increasing
pressure to fully acknowledge the event, particularly as it seeks membership
in the European Union. France, Russia and many other countries have already
declared the killings were genocide; Israel and the United States both have
not.
The issue is extremely sensitive in Turkey, and Turks have faced prosecution
for saying the killings were genocide.
In Jerusalem, young and old congregated, jointly singing the Armenian
national anthem, waving the Armenian flag, holding signs admonishing the
Turkish government and pictures depicting the atrocities. “The struggle will
continue on until we get the recognition and justice,” community leader
Abraham Shemmessin said.
On Monday, hundreds of Armenians will gather in Jerusalem’s Old City for a
memorial service in St. James Cathedral followed by a parade and a
candlelighting ceremony at the Armenian memorial on Mount Zion. Other events
are scheduled throughout the day.
“The genocide is a sign of memory and resurrection and an important ritual
which has been denied, what we want is recognition,” Armenian historian
Albert Aghazarian told The Jerusalem Post.
Nearly every Armenian here has a story of his own connected with the
killings, despite being the second, third or fourth generation of survivors.
Garo Sandrouni, owner of the Jerusalem Armenian Art Center, lost his
grandfather in the massacre. He was survived only by Sandrouni’s grandmother
and father who fled to Lebanon and then to Jaffa. Growing up, he said, his
father never spoke about the genocide.
“He never talked about that… it was very hard to accept… he never wanted
to share his sadness with us, he never wanted to remember those years,”
Sandrouni said.
However, Sandrouni and his children think differently when it comes to
speaking about the genocide. Sandrouni said, “we should remember that and
never forget so that other countries will not make the same mistake with
other people. This is the way and so I always talk about it.”
In Armenia yesterday, hundreds of thousands marked the anniversary of the
mass killings with candles and a moment of silence, vowing to press their
case to have the killings recognized by Turkey, and the world, as genocide.
Turkey began arresting Armenian intellectuals, diplomats and other
influential leaders in Constantinople on April 24, 1915, as violence and
unrest grew, particularly in the eastern parts of the country. Armenia
claims the Young Turk administration attempted to ethnically exterminate the
Armenians in the Ottoman Empire.
Michael Stone, a professor of Armenian Studies at the Hebrew University of
Jerusalem, said the Armenian people must preserve their language and culture
and remember what happened so that the world would know. “We need to learn,
understand, love and remember,” he told a gathering in Bat Yam Thursday
evening.
For now, the Armenian community in Jerusalem stands united in its struggle,
as the back of T-shirts Armenians are wearing around the Old City state: “90
years on, the march for recognition still continues.”