Armenian Genocide commemoration held in Montebello




MONTEBELLO, Calif. (CNS) — A commemoration was 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.

Reps. Judy Chu, D-Monterey Park, Linda Sanchez, D-Whittier, and Adam Schiff, D-Burbank, Sens. Bob J. Archuleta, D-Pico Rivera, and Anthony Portantino, D-La Canada, Assemblyman Miguel Santiago, D-Los Angeles, Los Angeles City Council President Paul Krekorian and Montebello Mayor David Torres were among the speakers at the 11 a.m. commemoration at the Montebello Armenian Genocide Monument in Bicknell Park.

The commemoration also included a religious ceremony, musical performances and placement of flowers.

The event was 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.

Emil Lazarian

“I should like to see any power of the world destroy this race, this small tribe of unimportant people, whose wars have all been fought and lost, whose structures have crumbled, literature is unread, music is unheard, and prayers are no more answered. Go ahead, destroy Armenia . See if you can do it. Send them into the desert without bread or water. Burn their homes and churches. Then see if they will not laugh, sing and pray again. For when two of them meet anywhere in the world, see if they will not create a New Armenia.” - WS