Beirut to host events dedicated to 96th anniversary of Armenian Genocide April 24-25

April 24, 2011 - 21:35 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Three Armenian political parties will hold a gathering on April 24 at the Armenian Orthodox church in Antelias to mark the 96th anniversary of the 1915 genocide.

Aztag Beirut-based newspaper editor Shahan Kandaharian told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter that the event is initiated by the ARF Dashnaktsutyun, Hunchakian and Ramkavar parties.

"Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, His Holiness Aram I and Armenia's Ambassador to Lebanon Ashot Kocharyan will address the event. On April 25 the Armenian embassy in Beirut will organize a range of events to commemorate the Genocide; films will be screened, an exhibition will be opened. Members of the Lebanese parliament, diplomats, representatives of public organizations and media are invited to participate in the events," said Kandaharian.

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.