Manuk Balian: we want historical justice to triumph

April 24, 2010 - 19:43 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - “I had visited Armenia earlier, but this is the first time that I am here on April 24,” member of the Armenian ice hockey team Manuk Balian told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter. He added that his ancestors were from Western Armenia.

According to him, a protest action dedicated to the 95th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide will be organized also in Los Angeles on April 24. American youth will join the event.

Balian was in difficulty to comment over Turks’ reaction to such events, as the number of Turks is small in Los Angeles. He added that during a tournament a Turk told him that Armenians are taught at school to hate Turks. “Actually, this is not true; we just want historical justice to triumph,” said Balian.

Doctor Mihran Balayan, who arrived in Armenia from Boston, noted that this is his first visit to Armenia and he could not refrain from visiting the Genocide Memorial to commemorate the Armenian Genocide victims.

“My ancestors are from Western Armenia – Marash,” said Balayan, noting that events in commemoration of the Armenian Genocide victims are due this day also in Boston. “Youth of different nations will join Armenians during them. We work on familiarizing them with the history and events of 1915 in the Ottoman Empire,” said Balayan.

In addition, Balayan is going to give lectures to students of Yerevan Medical University.

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.