Torchlight procession in commemoration of Genocide victims to launch April 23 in Yerevan

April 14, 2011 - 12:01 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - On April 23, ARF Dashnaktsutyun will organize a traditional torchlight procession to the Memorial of Genocide Victims in Yerevan.

Upon completion of an ARFD rally, the procession will start with the burning of a Turkish flag which provides the fire for torches to be lit. The procession usually includes the members of Nikol Aghbalyan ARFD youth wing, high school and university students.

The second rally will take place at the Memorial. April 24 torchlight procession has been organized 13 years in a row.

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.