Thousands will take to LA streets to demand justice for Armenians

April 24, 2019 - 15:34 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Thousands of people will march through Hollywood and the Mid-City area Wednesday to mark the 104th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, again calling on Turkey -- and the United States -- to officially recognize that it occurred, NBC reports.

April 24, 1915 is the day when a group of Armenian intellectuals was rounded up and assassinated in Constantinople by the Ottoman government. On April 24, Armenians worldwide are commemorating the 104th anniversary of the Genocide which continued until 1923. Some three dozen countries, hundreds of local government bodies and international organizations have so far recognized the killings of 1.5 million Armenians as Genocide. Turkey denies to this day.

Thousands of Armenians and their supporters will gather at 10 a.m. near Hollywood and Hobart boulevards for a march sponsored by Unified Young Armenians. The group will march in a rectangular route east on Hollywood Boulevard, south on Normandie Avenue, west on Sunset Boulevard then north on Hobart Boulevard.

At 1 p.m., the Armenian National Committee of America Western Region and a variety of other groups will stage a march outside the Turkish Consulate at 6300 Wilshire Blvd. Organizers said the event is staged "to demand justice for the Armenian Genocide" by "bringing Armenian demands directly to Turkey's official government representative in Los Angeles."

Motorists should anticipate street closures and delays throughout the day in both areas.

Despite calls by some legislators -- most notably Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Burbank -- for the federal government to formally recognize the genocide, U.S. presidents have long refused to do so. President Donald Trump last year denounced the deaths as "one of the worst mass atrocities of the 20th Century" but failed to use the term "genocide."

Former President Barack Obama, a Democrat, also failed to recognize the genocide during his eight years in office, despite indications during his original campaign that he would do so.