IN REMEMBRANCE OF ALL GENOCIDE VICTIMS 1915-2015. THE CENTENNIAL OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
20/01/2015
Peace of Art Commemorates the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide
Boston, MA – In commemoration of the centennial of the Armenian
Genocide, beginning January 2015 and through the end of the year,
Peace of Art, Inc., will be displaying large electronic panels in
the United States. Peace of Art, Inc., will begin such electronic
displays in Massachusetts; the first of which will be located on
Route 1 in Foxboro, about 1/4 mile from Gillette Stadium and Patriot
Place. The images and the messages on the electronic displays pay
tribute to the victims, refer to the Armenian Genocide, as well as
all other genocides that took place during the past one hundred years
following the Armenian Genocide.
Peace of Art, Inc., president Daniel Varoujan Hejinian said that “We
are sending a message of peace to the world, to condemn the past crimes
of genocide, and resolve that no other nation be the next target of
genocide.” With the electronic billboards, Peace of Art’s message is
that genocide continues to be a threat to humanity, it urges viewers
to condemn the crime of genocide, be alert, “don’t be the next victim,”
and put an end to this crime against humanity once and for all.
The first of the electronic billboards will read “CONDEMN THE PAST,
DON’T BE THE NEXT VICTIM. REMEMBER 1915 THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE.” Within
the word “Genocide” the letter “O” is a target.
The second of the electronic billboards will read ” IN REMEMBRANCE
OF ALL GENOCIDE VICTIMS 1915-2015. THE CENTENNIAL OF THE ARMENIAN
GENOCIDE.” Within the word “Genocide” the letter “O” is a circle with
the flags of countries that have recognized the Armenian Genocide
and within the circle is a dove, a symbol of peace.
Since 1996, the artist Daniel Varoujan Hejinian has been displaying
large billboards in Massachusetts to inform the community at large to
the reality of the Armenian Genocide. In 2003, Hejinian founded Peace
of Art, Inc. a non-profit organization, that uses art as an educational
tool to bring awareness to the universal human condition, and promote
peaceful solutions to conflict. The organization is not associated with
political or religious organizations, and its focus is on the global
human condition. Since then, Peace of Art, Inc.,
has sponsored the billboards to commemorate the Armenian Genocide.
In the last one hundred years, since the Armenian Genocide took
place, millions of people have been the target of genocide, torture,
rape, removed from their homes, or killed. Refugee camps are just a
footnote on this ongoing tragedy. The indifference of the international
community has been shown to be dangerous, allowing the crimes to be
repeated without impunity. These are only some of the genocides and
mass atrocities that followed the Armenian Genocide of 1915:
1933-1945 the Holocaust. Six million Jews were exterminated in
concentration camps.
1975-1979 Cambodia. “Death Valley” 1.7- 2.2 million Cambodians
were killed.
1992-1995 ethnic cleansing in Bosnia about 97,000 people were killed.
1994 Rwandan Tutu extremists within 100 days killed 800,000 to 1
million people.
2003 Ethnic-political conflicts in Darfur killed some 300,000 Africans.
A century ago in the Ottoman Empire, genocide was carried out
against the Armenians, while reporters and foreign dignitaries,
ambassadors and consuls, alerted the leadership of their countries
of the ongoing slaughter of Armenians. Henry Morgenthau, the United
States ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, sent countless letters to
the Ottoman executioners as well as to the State Department. In
1915, The New York Times published 150 articles, one just about
every other day, reporting on the on going atrocities. Governments
remained indifferent, and proceeded with non-action according to their
political interests. The German imperial adviser Bethmann Hollweg said
“Our only goal is to keep Turkey by our side until the end of the war,
regardless of whether Armenians perish in the process or not.”
One hundred years have passed but many nations remain still today
as they did a century ago when Armenians were being slaughtered,
and continue to ignore the crime of genocide taking place around the
world. The international community has the power to put an end to
these crimes against humanity, and it should begin by recognizing
and condemning the Armenian Genocide.
by Rosario Teixeira