LA county law enforcement officials visit Genocide monument

April 15, 2015 - 11:16 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Representatives of various levels of Law Enforcement from local Police Chiefs, District Attorney’s Office, U.S. Department of Justice, Sheriff’s Dept, DEA, California Highway Patrol, ATF, and the assistant Director of the FBI David L. Bowdich convened for a meeting at the grounds of the Armenian Genocide Martyrs Monument in Montebello, California, according to Asbarez.

Montebello Mayor Jack Hadjinian spoke to the Board of Directors of Peace Officers’ Association of Los Angeles County (POALAC) about the history of the World’s first Armenian Genocide Monument on public property outside of Armenia, the Armenian Genocide, Turkey’s active campaign of denial with examples of their failed attempt in the City of Carson, and the recent developments in social media by way of Pope Francis and the Los Angeles Times latest editorial.

Father Muron Aznikian of the Holy Cross Cathedral delivered the invocation where he remembered the souls of the victims of the Armenian Genocide and asked for the Lord’s blessing for the various representatives of Law Enforcement.

Montebello Police Chief Kevin McClure who serves on the Board of Directors of the Peace Officers Association of Los Angeles County suggested moving the meeting to the Armenian Genocide Martyrs Monument for the month of April in honor of the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide. The POALAC Board of Directors luncheon meeting was sponsored by the ARF Dro Gomideh (Dro committee).

The Armenian Genocide

The Armenian Genocide (1915-23) was the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I. It was characterized by massacres and deportations, involving forced marches under conditions designed to lead to the death of the deportees, with the total number of deaths reaching 1.5 million.

The majority of Armenian Diaspora communities were formed by the Genocide survivors.

Present-day Turkey denies the fact of the Armenian Genocide, justifying the atrocities as “deportation to secure Armenians”. Only a few Turkish intellectuals, including Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk and scholar Taner Akcam, speak openly about the necessity to recognize this crime against humanity.

The Armenian Genocide was recognized by Uruguay, Russia, France, Lithuania, Italy, 45 U.S. states, Greece, Cyprus, Lebanon, Argentina, Belgium, Austria, Wales, Switzerland, Canada, Poland, Venezuela, Chile, Bolivia, the Vatican, Luxembourg, Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands, Paraguay, Sweden, Venezuela, Slovakia, Syria, Vatican, as well as the European Parliament and the World Council of Churches.