Greece hosts commemoration ceremony for Armenian Genocide victims

April 24, 2010 - 19:06 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Greece in hosting series of commemorative events to mark 95th anniversary of Armenian Genocide.

In Athens, Greek singer of Armenian decent Hayk Yazichian presented a concert. Genocide awareness pavilion, featuring historic materials on Armenian Genocide was set up in Sintagma Square.

On April 24, commemoration ceremony was held at Zangak monument; Thessalonica will host commemorative events on April 25, Armenian Foreign Ministry reported.

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.