French journalist appeals to Armenians worldwide to commemorate Genocide victims

April 21, 2010 - 12:58 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Freelance French journalist Jean Eckian appealed to Armenians worldwide with a request to commemorate Genocide victims by recoding their names at inhomage.com.

“This contribution is a moral obligation for those who can bring together by number and name those members of their families who suffered unspeakable crime against humanity, termed as Genocide by Raphael Lemkin. To refrain would be to abandon your own identity, leaving a gaping hole to swallow up the most grievous abuse,” he stressed in his address.

The project is supported by acclaimed singer Charles Aznavour.

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.