Khachkar commemorating Armenian Genocide to be inaugurated in Versailles

May 26, 2010 - 12:52 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - A khachkar commemorating the victims of the Armenian Genocide and those Armenian fighters who gave their lives for France will be inaugurated in Versailles on May 30, on a initiative of Antoine Bagdikian, President of Armenian Veterans Association, and Francois de Mazieres, Mayor of Versailles.

The Khachkar will be unveiled by Armenia’s Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva Charles Aznavour, freelance French journalist Jean Eckian told PanARMENIAN.Net

An exhibition titled “Missak Manouchian and Armenians in the Resistance” will also open.

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.