Tweet
ARMENIANS SAY NEVER FORGET ON 99TH ANNIVERSARY OF GENOCIDE
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin (Ontario, CA)
April 25, 2014 Friday
by Lauren Gold
MONTEBELLO >> With a message of never forget, thousands of Armenians
and others came out from Hollywood to Montebello to Pasadena Thursday
to commemorate the 99th anniversary of the Armenian genocide.
The genocide is commemorated April 24 because that was the day in
1915 that about 300 Armenian leaders in Turkey were rounded up and
deported or killed, and nearly 5,000 poor Armenians were killed in
and around Istanbul.
The Turkish government has questioned the number of deaths and denies
it was a genocide.
It s important we remember the genocide, said Los Angeles Mayor Eric
Garcetti before about 1,500 people at the United Armenian Council
of Los Angeles event at the Armenian Genocide Martyrs Monument at
Bicknell Park in Montebello.
There will be children who will never have known somebody who survived
the genocide, Garcetti said. It will fall on our shoulders now to talk
about that memory. We ll need to tell the young children growing up
what happened.
Another commemoration was held on the steps of Pasadena City Hall
and in Hollywood thousands of protestors took part in a march, many
carrying signs, flags and banners as they gathered at Hollywood and
Hobart boulevards.
The program in Pasadena sponsored by the Armenian Community Coalition
featured musical tributes, poems and speeches by elected officials
and community members.
They massacred a million and a half of us, yet today we stand as over
11 million worldwide, said Levon Keshishian, master of ceremonies
for the Pasadena event.
For 99 years we have proven we are a people that can survive this. By
all difficulties we are a people who adapt to all situations. We are
survivors of tragedies; from time immemorial our faith has guided us
all the way, said Keshishian. Today is not a day of mourning, it is
a day of remembrance and rededication to the cause, which is unsolved.
Rep. Judy Chu, D-Pasadena, reminded attendees that there are still
people in the world experiencing hardships and horrors similar to
those of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, specifically in Syria.
We have a duty to recognize the Armenian Genocide and the tragedy in
Kasab (Syria) and remind the world that horror and destruction will
not be ignored, Chu said, adding that she plans to continue to push
for a congressional resolution recognizing the Armenian massacre as
a genocide.
Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Burbank speaking in Montebello called on Turkey
to acknowledge the genocide.
When we re gathered here next year for the 100th anniversary, I hope
and pray Turkey will answer with words of repentance, Schiff said. He
also called on the United States to recognize the genocide.
I hope also the greatest nation on Earth lives up to its ideals and
recognize the Armenian genocide, Schiff said.
Another event was held Wednesday night also at the Montebello monument.
About 400 people were present for the speeches and musical
performances.
This is important, said Montebello Councilman Jack Hadjinian, who was
the master of ceremony on Wednesday night for the Armenian National
Committee of San Gabriel Valley-sponsored event.
We celebrate our existence and we continue to demand justice, Hadjinian
said. The U.S. needs to take a position to classify what happened in
1915 as genocide, not just a tragic event.
President Barack Obama in a statement issued Thursday said a full,
frank and just acknowledgement of the facts is in all our interests.
We recall the horror of what happened 99 years ago, when 1.5 million
Armenians were massacred or marched to their deaths in the final
days of the Ottoman Empire, and we grieve for the lives lost and the
suffering endured by those men, women, and children, his statement
read.
We are joined in solemn commemoration by millions in the United States
and across the world, he wrote. In so doing, we remind ourselves
of our shared commitment to ensure that such dark chapters of human
history are never again repeated.
Commemoration of the Armenian genocide will continue at 6 p.m. Sunday
with a ground-blessing ceremony at the site of the Pasadena City
Council-approved Armenian Genocide Memorial in Memorial Park, 85
East Holly Street. For information visit www.PASAGMC.org or call
818-454-3603.
City News Service contributed to the story
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin (Ontario, CA)
April 25, 2014 Friday
by Lauren Gold
MONTEBELLO >> With a message of never forget, thousands of Armenians
and others came out from Hollywood to Montebello to Pasadena Thursday
to commemorate the 99th anniversary of the Armenian genocide.
The genocide is commemorated April 24 because that was the day in
1915 that about 300 Armenian leaders in Turkey were rounded up and
deported or killed, and nearly 5,000 poor Armenians were killed in
and around Istanbul.
The Turkish government has questioned the number of deaths and denies
it was a genocide.
It s important we remember the genocide, said Los Angeles Mayor Eric
Garcetti before about 1,500 people at the United Armenian Council
of Los Angeles event at the Armenian Genocide Martyrs Monument at
Bicknell Park in Montebello.
There will be children who will never have known somebody who survived
the genocide, Garcetti said. It will fall on our shoulders now to talk
about that memory. We ll need to tell the young children growing up
what happened.
Another commemoration was held on the steps of Pasadena City Hall
and in Hollywood thousands of protestors took part in a march, many
carrying signs, flags and banners as they gathered at Hollywood and
Hobart boulevards.
The program in Pasadena sponsored by the Armenian Community Coalition
featured musical tributes, poems and speeches by elected officials
and community members.
They massacred a million and a half of us, yet today we stand as over
11 million worldwide, said Levon Keshishian, master of ceremonies
for the Pasadena event.
For 99 years we have proven we are a people that can survive this. By
all difficulties we are a people who adapt to all situations. We are
survivors of tragedies; from time immemorial our faith has guided us
all the way, said Keshishian. Today is not a day of mourning, it is
a day of remembrance and rededication to the cause, which is unsolved.
Rep. Judy Chu, D-Pasadena, reminded attendees that there are still
people in the world experiencing hardships and horrors similar to
those of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, specifically in Syria.
We have a duty to recognize the Armenian Genocide and the tragedy in
Kasab (Syria) and remind the world that horror and destruction will
not be ignored, Chu said, adding that she plans to continue to push
for a congressional resolution recognizing the Armenian massacre as
a genocide.
Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Burbank speaking in Montebello called on Turkey
to acknowledge the genocide.
When we re gathered here next year for the 100th anniversary, I hope
and pray Turkey will answer with words of repentance, Schiff said. He
also called on the United States to recognize the genocide.
I hope also the greatest nation on Earth lives up to its ideals and
recognize the Armenian genocide, Schiff said.
Another event was held Wednesday night also at the Montebello monument.
About 400 people were present for the speeches and musical
performances.
This is important, said Montebello Councilman Jack Hadjinian, who was
the master of ceremony on Wednesday night for the Armenian National
Committee of San Gabriel Valley-sponsored event.
We celebrate our existence and we continue to demand justice, Hadjinian
said. The U.S. needs to take a position to classify what happened in
1915 as genocide, not just a tragic event.
President Barack Obama in a statement issued Thursday said a full,
frank and just acknowledgement of the facts is in all our interests.
We recall the horror of what happened 99 years ago, when 1.5 million
Armenians were massacred or marched to their deaths in the final
days of the Ottoman Empire, and we grieve for the lives lost and the
suffering endured by those men, women, and children, his statement
read.
We are joined in solemn commemoration by millions in the United States
and across the world, he wrote. In so doing, we remind ourselves
of our shared commitment to ensure that such dark chapters of human
history are never again repeated.
Commemoration of the Armenian genocide will continue at 6 p.m. Sunday
with a ground-blessing ceremony at the site of the Pasadena City
Council-approved Armenian Genocide Memorial in Memorial Park, 85
East Holly Street. For information visit www.PASAGMC.org or call
818-454-3603.
City News Service contributed to the story