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  • Burbank walk marks somber remembrance

    Burbank Leader, CA
    April 24 2014


    Burbank walk marks somber remembrance

    Area events commemorate the 99th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

    April 23, 2014|By Alene Tchekmedyian, [email protected]



    Roughly 200 local Armenians, some clutching candles, marched from City
    Hall to the Burbank Youth Center Tuesday to kick off a night
    commemorating the 99th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, which
    claimed the lives of 1.5 million men, women and children near the
    beginning of the 20th century.

    Hosted by the Armenian Youth Federation, the half-mile walk led to an
    event that featured speakers, poetry readings, Armenian folk dancing
    and singing.

    PHOTOS: Walk of Rememberance in Burbank

    "Nearly 100 years later, we are still here," Burbank resident Talar
    Kossakian, 21, told attendees.

    The genocide, however, perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire starting in
    1915, is not recognized by Turkey or the United States.

    "Our fight will continue until justice is served," Kossakian said.

    Zaruhi Varpetyan, 17-year-old senior at John Burroughs High School,
    told attendees that her ancestors lost their lives during the
    massacres.

    "If the people who perpetrated the genocide are not punished, the
    cycle of genocide will continue," she said.

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    At City Hall earlier in the evening, the Burbank City Council
    presented a proclamation commemorating the victims of the genocide.

    There, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) expressed gratitude to live in a
    city so vocal about the massacres.

    "We think that we move forward as a civilization, and in places in
    Syria and elsewhere we're reminded how little we have changed as human
    beings," Schiff said, referring to the recent violence against
    Armenians in Kessab.

    He said he hopes the United States and Congress will soon recognize
    the genocide with as much clarity and strength as the city of Burbank.

    "It has never been in our national interest to become complicit in a
    campaign of denial," Schiff said.

    http://articles.burbankleader.com/2014-04-23/news/tn-blr-me-walk-marks-somber-rememberance-in-burbank-20140423_1_armenian-genocide-burbank-city-council-ottoman-empire

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