Armenian Genocide commemorative events held in Germany

April 27, 2011 - 12:58 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Commemorative events dedicated to the 96th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide were held in Germany on April 24 and 25.

On April 24, a protest action against the Genocide denial in Frankfurt am Main was followed by commemoration in Paulskirche organized on the initiative of the Central Council of Armenian of Germany and the German Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Armenia’s ambassador to Germany Armen Martirosyan, Council chairman Azat Ordukhanyan and Turkish author Dogan Akhanli were keynote speaker at the event.

On April 25, a liturgy was served in French Cathedral in Berlin.

Bundestag members, representatives of local administration and communities attended the events to honor the memory of the innocent victims, RA MFA press office 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.