Armenians around the world commemorate the Genocide

by Maria Titizian and Emil Sanamyan

Published: Friday April 24, 2009

Practically the entire population of Armenia once again paid its respects at the Armenian Genocide memorial monument at Tzitzernakaberd, Yerevan, April 24, 2009. Tigran Tadevosian/Photolure

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Yerevan - Hundreds of thousands of people, from near and far, today made the solemn journey to Tzitzernaka­berd, the Armenian Genocide memorial here, to lay flowers and pay tribute to the memory of the 1.5 million Armenians who were made to waste away in death marches or were killed outright in the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire in 1915-17.

In Washington, President Barack Obama issued a statement on "the 1.5 million Armenians who were massacred or marched to their death in the final days of the Ottoman Empire," avoiding the term genocide.

In a reference to his campaign pledges that as president he would recognize the Genocide, Mr. Obama wrote, "I have consistently stated my own view of what occurred in 1915, and my view of that history has not changed. My interest remains the achievement of a full, frank and just acknowledgment of the facts."

But, the president argued, "the best way to advance that goal right now is for the Armenian and Turkish people to address the facts of the past as a part of their efforts to move forward."

Reacting to the statement, Ken Hachikian of the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) voiced "sharp disappointment with President Obama's failure to honor his solemn pledge to recognize the Armenian Genocide."

Ross Vartian of the U.S.-Armenia Public Affairs Committee (USAPAC) said in a statement, "President Obama's first April 24 statement became a lost opportunity to affirm the Armenian Genocide."

On April 22 House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D.-Calif.) and Majority Leader Rep. Steny Hoyer (D.-Md.) along with fellow members of Congress joined hundreds of Armenian Americans and friends for the annual congressional commemoration of the Armenian Genocide.

"It is long past the time for the United States to formally recognize the Armenian Genocide," the Speaker said. "How far we can go with the resolution this year depends on the outreach that each and every one of us can do to win on the floor of the House," she argued.

"We can do any amount of inside maneuvering in the Congress and Washington, but what is important is the outside mobilization to bring to bear the voices of people across America."

Meanwhile, the Turkish government briefly recalled "for consultations" its ambassador to Canada after Canadian officials attended an Armenian Genocide commemorative event.

Ambassadors accredited in Armenia were also at the Genocide memorial. U.S. envoy Amb. Marie Yovanovitch said, "The prayers of all Americans are with the Armenian people at this time, so we are pleased to be able to be here and to be able to pay our respects."

Ukraine's envoy, Ambassador Alexander Bozhko told Armenpress that the Ukrainian people share Armenia's anguish. "An entire civilization was exterminated - a notable part of the Armenian people. I've translated  Sasuntsi David; I've translated Vardan Vardanian's novel Komitas; Mushegh Galshoian's novels about  Western Armenia; I know what took place in reality," said the ambassador.

Across all regions of Armenia, and in Nagorno-Karabakh, commemoration ceremonies were held demanding the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide. In Stepanakert, Speaker of the NKR parliament Ashot Ghulyan, members of  parliament and government, representatives of the NKR Defense Army command, as well as the personnel of the republic's organizations, enterprises, and educational establishments visited the Memorial Complex to pay tribute. A requiem service was held in the Armenian Apostolic Church of Artsakh.

In communities large and small, at memorials and at churches, Armenians gathered or prepared to gather over the weekend to remember, pay their respects, and demand justice.