Armenian communities of Argentina, Uruguay demand justice

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Armenian community of Argentina rallied on the night of April 24 for the 104th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide in Buenos Aires, Agencia Prensa Armenia 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 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.

"There is a new stage of denialism: it is appearing in the culture, in universities, in our Foreign Ministry, in Legislatures and in passionate fields such as football, Turkish novels and tourist TV programs. It is clear: they are trying to distort the history and approach the public opinion from a positive side," denounced youth of the Armenian institutions in their speech.

Argentine President Mauricio Macri sent a greeting from his social networks on the day of the 104th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

That same day during the ceremony in the Cathedral San Gregorio the Illuminator, Hernan Lombardi, Secretary of Government of the Federal System of Media and Public Content of the Argentine Republic said that "without memory there is no possibility of educating for peace" and that "in subsequent events, criminals seek the invisibility of their actions", which is a "permanent strategy in every genocide."

Antonio Sarafian, representative of Armenian Institutions of the Argentine Republic (IARA), the space that brings together all the institutions of the country, recalled that Argentina recognizes the genocide through Law 26,199, and added: "We will not tolerate the meddling of any country through pressures: we do live in a free and sovereign homeland. That is why we ask the Foreign Ministry to take action on the matter and defend our interests and those of us who live on Argentine soil."

The event was attended by Claudio Avruj, Secretary of Human Rights and Cultural Pluralism, Ester Mkrtumyan, Ambassador of Armenia in Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Peru and Paraguay, and Kissag Mouradian, Primate of the Armenian Apostolic Church for the Argentine Republic and Chile.

On Sunday, March 21, a rally took place in the Argentine province of Córdoba, while on March 23 the rally took place in Montevideo, Uruguay, with the participation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Artsakh, Masis Mayilyan.