24.04.16 - 101st anniversary of Armenian Genocide: President Serzh Sargsyan, Catholicos Karekin II, Charles Aznavour and George Clooney pay tribute to the victims

President, Aznavour, Clooney visit Genocide memorial

April 24, 2016 - 11:19 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - President Serzh Sargsyan and First Lady Rita Sargsyan on Sunday, April 24 visited Tsitsernakaberd the Armenian Genocide memorial to pay tribute to the victims of the Genocide.

Sargsyan was accompanied by world-famous singer Charles Aznavour, actor George Clooney, Aurora Prize nominees and the Catholicos of All Armenians, His Holiness Karekin II.

They laid flowers at the memorial, with the Catholicos praying for the innocent victims of the Genocide.

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.