Lithuania hosts events to mark Armenian Genocide centennial

November 24, 2015 - 14:03 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Throughout the month of November, Luthuana's Kaunas Art School commemorated the Armenian Genocide centennial with a range of events, Armenian Foreign Ministry press office reports.

Organized with the support of the Kaunas City Hall and the Armenian Embassy in Lithuania, exhibitions titled “Small Country - Big Nation,” “Armenian Genocide: Frontpage Coverage in the World Press” were held as part of commemoration events.

On the All Saints’ Day on November 1, the art school hosted a candlelight vigil, honoring the memory of 1.5 million victims of the Armenian Genocide.

Winners of the “Small Country - Big Nation” exhibition-contest were awarded at a final event on November 19, with Armenia’s ambassador to Lithuania Ara Ayvazyan and the art school director Zygimantas Sarakauskas delivering remarks.

Also, the event featured ethnographic performances by Lithuanian and Armenian dance troops, as well as readings of "The Book of Lamentations" by Grigor Narekatsi.

Lithuania has recognized the Armenian Genocide in 2005.

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.