Netherlands hosts Armenian Genocide commemoration events

PanARMENIAN.Net - Events commemorating the 104th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide were held in Amsterdam's City Council on Wednesday, April 24, Armenian ambassador to the Netherlands Tigran Balayan said in a series of tweets.

After the event at the Dutch capital, Balayan and Armenian community leaders from Assen, the Hague, Amsterdam and Almelo paid tribute to the memory of the victims at the Armenian Genocide monument of Assen, where the first such monument in the Netherlands was erected in 2001.

Later in the day, at Almelo's Armenian Genocide memorial a commemoration was held with the participation of Mayor Arjen Gerritsen, members of the city council and Overijssel regional council, Khajak Archibishop Barsamian, Spiritual leaders of Syriac and Coptic Churches and Armenian Community leaders from all over the Netherlands.

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 commemorated 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.