Thousands march in LA to commemorate Armenian Genocide

Thousands march in LA to commemorate Armenian Genocide

PanARMENIAN.Net - Marchers created a mesmerizing blur of brightly colored flags Friday, April 24, as they walked through the streets west of downtown Los Angeles to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, Los Angeles Times reports.

Many held nearly identical azure signs that thanked various countries for recognizing the Genocide. President Obama has not used the word "genocide" in connection with the massacres since coming to office — and his name was greeted with boos at a ceremony before the march.

Many signs voiced forceful messages: "We Demand Justice" and "Turkey Must Pay."

The procession was multigenerational, with small children riding atop parents’ shoulders; older women linked arms for balance as they moved forward.

One group chanted a traditional song, which competed with the whir of helicopters overhead.

In the streets, participants paused briefly to join voices in an Armenian prayer, some making signs of the cross.

Tarzana resident Anna Karapetian, 31, said her family and others were torn apart, never knowing what happened to some family members, leaving an everlasting scar, she said.

"There's always a missing puzzle, a missing piece in their families as far as who they are and who they're going to be ... regardless of how many years go by," Karapetian said.

She brought her 6-year-old daughter, Sofie Tigeranian, who proudly sported a purple forget-me-not flower. Sofie had decorated a sign with a large Armenian flag and a sketch of a gun with a red "X" over it.

"The seeds are there," Karapetian said, referring to the poster and her daughter.

Passing on language, religion and culture ensures the tragedy won't be forgotten and that future generations will know where they came from, she added.

"There's so much light shining on Armenia," she said. "We waited many, many years for this to happen. It's a new beginning for us."

Just before the march began, Los Angeles City Councilman Paul Krekorian added his own family’s narrative to the stories of suffering recounted among those gathered.

He talked of his great-grandmother having received a letter about what happened to her brother, a math professor at Euphrates College, a school in eastern Turkey. The brother had been seized by Turkish authorities and had his beard pulled from his face. His torturers then cut out his tongue and left him to die.

"For my family and for many of us that are here, we don't need any help in remembering the Armenian genocide because it is deeply personal to us," Krekorian said, according to LATimes.

He spoke Friday morning in Little Armenia, at the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Western Avenue, which was dedicated as Armenian Genocide Memorial Square.

"The step that we're taking today,” Krekorian said. “And the many steps that will be taken together arm in arm... Those steps that will be taken will be heard throughout California and throughout America. Hopefully they'll be heard in Washington, D.C."

Before the march, Elizabeth Marks, a Studio City resident, recounted that 100 years ago today, her father, at age 14, was deported and forced to march across the desert. Although her father never talked about what happened, Marks found his manuscripts and penned a newly published novel, "Zaven's Destiny: A Childhood Lost to the Armenian Genocide."

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