Stephen Harper: we must never forget the lessons of historyApril 25, 2011 - 12:52 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenian-Canadians marked a somber anniversary on Sunday, April 24. It's been almost a century since as estimated 1.5 million Armenians perished at the hands of the Ottoman Empire, CTV News reports. Young Armenians say they will continue to commemorate the day and push for recognition. "It's not going to stop us from continuing our battle," says Talar Poladian. "I think it does make us stronger and continue to want to try and get that recognition." "We need to remember these things so that it's not repeated… to Armenians or any other race," says J.P. Assadourian of the Armenian National Committee, Cambridge chapter. At a special ceremony in Cambridge, Armenian-Canadians too young to have been affected by the tragedy still felt its importance. "The pictures are really hard to see," said Poladian. "Those are our ancestors -- the Armenian people. I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy." Prime Minister Stephen Harper issued this statement on the anniversary: "96 years ago, the Armenian people experienced terrible suffering and loss of life. We must never forget the lessons of history. Nor should we allow the enmities of history to divide us." Canada officially declared the actions of the Ottoman Empire in 1915 were genocide back in 2006. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Russia warns Armenia against “falling into West’s trap” Zakharova maintained, however, that anything that will benefit the people of Armenia can only be welcomed. CSTO: Armenia has not participated in secretariat’s work recently Recently Armenia has not participated in the work of the secretariat of the CSTO, Imangali Tasmagambetov said. Meeting with U.S., EU not against third parties, says Armenia The meeting scheduled for April 5 is dedicated to strengthening of the Armenia-EU-US cooperation, Yerevan added. Ucom launches network modernization efforts in few regions of Armenia In particular, on March 28, the legacy Mobile Switching Subsystem will be replaced with a new one. |