Sydney, Melbourne announce Armenian Genocide memorial events

April 20, 2016 - 13:03 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Armenian Genocide Commemorative Committee released the schedule of events of the 101st commemoration of the Armenian Genocide in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia.

On Friday, April 22, a candlelight vigil (sit-in) will be organized near the State Library of Victoria, and the Armenian Genocide Commemoration will be held the next day in Melbourne. The latter will feature Vicken Babkenian, co-author of “Armenia, Australia & The Great War.”

A Requiem Mass will be served at the Armenian Apostolic Church in Chatswood, Sidney on Sunday, April 24, followed by the annual March for Justice from Hyde Park to Botanic Gardens.

This year, the National Armenian Genocide Commemoration Evening will be held on April 24, at the Willoughby Concourse Concert Hall, Chatswood. The keynote speaker will be Professor at the University of New South Wales (Canberra), Peter Stanley.

As an award-winning author, he has published over 30 books. Most recently, he co-authored “Armenia, Australia and the Great War” - the first book covering Australia’s humanitarian response to the Armenian Genocide.

Ryde City Armenian Genocide Commemoration is slated for April 30 at the Meadowbank War Memorial in Meadowbank, NSW.

Also, a Wreath Laying Ceremony & Armenian Genocide Commemorative Lecture is scheduled to be held on May 17, at the NSW State Parliament House, featuring Babkenian.

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.