RA leaders commemorate Armenian Genocide victims

April 24, 2011 - 09:32 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, Catholicos of All Armenians His Holiness Karekin II, Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan, National Assembly Speaker Hovik Abrahamyan visited the Armenian Genocide Memorial on April 24 morning to commemorate the innocent victims of the 1st genocide of the 20th century perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire.

President Sargsyan laid a wreath to the memorial and eternal flame. His Holiness Karekin II offered a prayer.

24.04.11 - Genocide victims commemoration day

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.