Torchlight procession in commemoration of Genocide victims launched in Yerevan

April 23, 2011 - 19:15 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Traditional torchlight procession in commemoration of Armenian Genocide victims has launched in Yerevan. The participants of ARF Dashnaktsutyun-organized event are marching to Tsitsernakaberd memorial.

Action participants burned a Turkish flag to protest Turkey’s denial of the fact of the Genocide. The burning flag provided fire for torches to be lit.

For the first time, representatives of Armenia’s national minorities participated in the action.

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.