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Watertown TAB & Press, MA
April 28 2006
Armenians, legislators remember genocide
By Melody Hanatani/ Belmont Citizen-Herald
Friday, April 28, 2006 - Updated: 11:05 AM EST
It was a solemn day at the State House last Friday when local
officials and the Armenian community came together to commemorate the
91st anniversary of the Armenian genocide.
Generations of Armenians, many of whom are from Watertown and
Belmont, filled the House of Representatives chamber from top to
bottom for the annual ceremony sponsored by the State House Genocide
Commemoration Committee.
Several candidates for the upcoming statewide election, including
gubernatorial hopeful Deval Patrick, were among those in attendance.
State Rep. Rachel Kaprielian, D-Watertown, opened the event by
calling it a commemoration of "91 years of grief ... 91 years of
resilience and survival."
The Rev. Raphael Andonian of Belmont's Holy Cross Armenian
Catholic Church gave the invocation, and the Rev. Antranig Baljian of
St. Stephen's Armenian Apostolic Church in Watertown gave a requiem
prayer.
Many speakers called for the Turkish and United States
governments to recognize the atrocities in order to begin healing and
to prevent future genocides.
U.S. Rep Edward Markeym, D-7th, demanded that President George W.
Bush go on the record and recognize the killings as genocide.
Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey presented the Governor's Proclamations to
four survivors, three of whom attended the ceremony. The son of Areka
DerKazarian accepted the proclamation on behalf of his mother, who
was unable to attend.
"Our country is richer because of you," Healey said to the
survivors.
Healey was filling in for Gov. Mitt Romney, R-Belmont, who was in
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on Friday.
This year's ceremony honored Dr. Taner Akcam, a visiting
professor at the University of Minnesota, who was one of the first
Turkish scholars to recognize the genocide.
For speaking out, Akcam received a 10-year prison sentence in
1976. He escaped after serving one year, and has lived in exile since
then.
For the past 20 years, Akcam has worked on human rights issues,
in particular the Turkish government's denial of the genocide. He
said truth and recognition would deter further human rights
violations and abuse.
He called for Turkey and Armenia to work together to deal with their
pasts as part of the democratization process.
Dr. Henry Theriault, the keynote speaker, said an apology alone
could simply be "empty rhetoric."
Theriault, who is the coordinator for the Center for the Study of
Human Rights at Worcester State College, said recognition must come
in the form of land and reparations.
In his closing remarks, state Rep. Peter Koutoujian, D-Waltham,
talked about why the Armenian community continues to commemorate the
genocide.
He said the commemoration is not about dwelling on the past, but
understanding that the genocide was the first of many that occurred
over the past 100 years.
"We know the events of the past are important today," he said.
Clara Mandasian of Watertown has lived in Massachusetts for the
past seven years and has attended the commemoration every year. She's
been to similar ceremonies around the United States.
For Mandasian, the commemoration is a way for her to honor the
victims of past genocides. Her grandmother survived the Armenian
genocide.
"It's very frustrating," she said of the Turkish government's
denial of the genocide. "It's so painful to have a history, to know
what your family endured, and have the perpetrator deny it."
It was a first-time ceremony for the younger generation of
Armenians. Araxie Poladian of Belmont brought her grandchildren for
the first time.
She hopes her grandchildren can keep the history alive.
"I hope people will tell other people that this shouldn't happen
to anyone," she said.
April 28 2006
Armenians, legislators remember genocide
By Melody Hanatani/ Belmont Citizen-Herald
Friday, April 28, 2006 - Updated: 11:05 AM EST
It was a solemn day at the State House last Friday when local
officials and the Armenian community came together to commemorate the
91st anniversary of the Armenian genocide.
Generations of Armenians, many of whom are from Watertown and
Belmont, filled the House of Representatives chamber from top to
bottom for the annual ceremony sponsored by the State House Genocide
Commemoration Committee.
Several candidates for the upcoming statewide election, including
gubernatorial hopeful Deval Patrick, were among those in attendance.
State Rep. Rachel Kaprielian, D-Watertown, opened the event by
calling it a commemoration of "91 years of grief ... 91 years of
resilience and survival."
The Rev. Raphael Andonian of Belmont's Holy Cross Armenian
Catholic Church gave the invocation, and the Rev. Antranig Baljian of
St. Stephen's Armenian Apostolic Church in Watertown gave a requiem
prayer.
Many speakers called for the Turkish and United States
governments to recognize the atrocities in order to begin healing and
to prevent future genocides.
U.S. Rep Edward Markeym, D-7th, demanded that President George W.
Bush go on the record and recognize the killings as genocide.
Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey presented the Governor's Proclamations to
four survivors, three of whom attended the ceremony. The son of Areka
DerKazarian accepted the proclamation on behalf of his mother, who
was unable to attend.
"Our country is richer because of you," Healey said to the
survivors.
Healey was filling in for Gov. Mitt Romney, R-Belmont, who was in
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on Friday.
This year's ceremony honored Dr. Taner Akcam, a visiting
professor at the University of Minnesota, who was one of the first
Turkish scholars to recognize the genocide.
For speaking out, Akcam received a 10-year prison sentence in
1976. He escaped after serving one year, and has lived in exile since
then.
For the past 20 years, Akcam has worked on human rights issues,
in particular the Turkish government's denial of the genocide. He
said truth and recognition would deter further human rights
violations and abuse.
He called for Turkey and Armenia to work together to deal with their
pasts as part of the democratization process.
Dr. Henry Theriault, the keynote speaker, said an apology alone
could simply be "empty rhetoric."
Theriault, who is the coordinator for the Center for the Study of
Human Rights at Worcester State College, said recognition must come
in the form of land and reparations.
In his closing remarks, state Rep. Peter Koutoujian, D-Waltham,
talked about why the Armenian community continues to commemorate the
genocide.
He said the commemoration is not about dwelling on the past, but
understanding that the genocide was the first of many that occurred
over the past 100 years.
"We know the events of the past are important today," he said.
Clara Mandasian of Watertown has lived in Massachusetts for the
past seven years and has attended the commemoration every year. She's
been to similar ceremonies around the United States.
For Mandasian, the commemoration is a way for her to honor the
victims of past genocides. Her grandmother survived the Armenian
genocide.
"It's very frustrating," she said of the Turkish government's
denial of the genocide. "It's so painful to have a history, to know
what your family endured, and have the perpetrator deny it."
It was a first-time ceremony for the younger generation of
Armenians. Araxie Poladian of Belmont brought her grandchildren for
the first time.
She hopes her grandchildren can keep the history alive.
"I hope people will tell other people that this shouldn't happen
to anyone," she said.