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SYSTEM OF A DOWN PERFORM IN ARMENIA FOR THE FIRST TIME TO MARK GENOCIDE'S 100TH ANNIVERSARY
The four Armenian-American band members have never performed together
before in the country where their grandparents fled the genocide
DAISY WYATT
Thursday 23 April 2015
System Of A Down, who are all children of survivors of the Armenian
genocide, will perform live in Armenia for the first time to mark
the 100th anniversary of the atrocity.
The band will perform in Armenian's capital Yerevan on 23 April
to close their Wake Up The Souls Tour, a month-long world tour to
commemorate the genocide, which saw the slaughter of 1.5 million
Armenians by the Ottoman Turks in 1915.
System Of A Down have been vocal about the Turkish government's
refusal to recognise the massacre as a "genocide" for over 15 years,
since their first recorded song appeared on a compilation album to
raise awareness about the Armenian genocide in 1997.
The band have now called for their fans to stand with them and help
raise awareness about the Turkish government's denial of the genocide.
Launching their Wake Up The Souls Tour, lead singer Serj Tankian said:
"For years we have commemorated [the Armenian genocide] by doing a
solo show, so we decided to call this tour the Wake Up The Souls Tour.
"The important thing is justice - if someone killed my family and
burned their house down and I'm running after them for a thousand
years, for them to turn around and say sorry. I think you have to have
incrimination, I think you have to have justice, courts involved etc -
it's got to be done the right way."
He urged fans to "join us in bringing justice to this cause".
Despite the band's outspoken stance on the Turkish government's
denial, they have a strong fanbase in Turkey and hope to perform in
the country soon.
Ottoman soldiers posing in front of Armenians they had hanged in
public in Alep in 1915Tankian told Rolling Stone that the band had
been subject to a smear campaign by the Turkish media but that their
Turkish fans had fought back against the false accusations.
"Our fans were the ones that protected us in Turkey. They wrote to
the editors of those newspapers who were planning this misinformation,
this disinformation, and fought for us. Our jaws dropped," he said.
He added that the band have written to the Turkish government asking
for permission to perform in the country but have yet to receive
a response.
Turkey has refused to acknowledge the atrocity as a "genocide",
claiming the number of Armenian victims has been inflated and that
massacres were committed by both sides.
The governments of 24 countries, including France, Italy, Russia and
Canada recognise the events of 1915 as a "genocide".
The British government does not, although the regional parliaments
and assemblies of Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland do.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVROP1rypag
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/system-of-a-down-perform-in-armenia-for-the-first-time-to-mark-genocides-100th-anniversary-10197847.html
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
The four Armenian-American band members have never performed together
before in the country where their grandparents fled the genocide
DAISY WYATT
Thursday 23 April 2015
System Of A Down, who are all children of survivors of the Armenian
genocide, will perform live in Armenia for the first time to mark
the 100th anniversary of the atrocity.
The band will perform in Armenian's capital Yerevan on 23 April
to close their Wake Up The Souls Tour, a month-long world tour to
commemorate the genocide, which saw the slaughter of 1.5 million
Armenians by the Ottoman Turks in 1915.
System Of A Down have been vocal about the Turkish government's
refusal to recognise the massacre as a "genocide" for over 15 years,
since their first recorded song appeared on a compilation album to
raise awareness about the Armenian genocide in 1997.
The band have now called for their fans to stand with them and help
raise awareness about the Turkish government's denial of the genocide.
Launching their Wake Up The Souls Tour, lead singer Serj Tankian said:
"For years we have commemorated [the Armenian genocide] by doing a
solo show, so we decided to call this tour the Wake Up The Souls Tour.
"The important thing is justice - if someone killed my family and
burned their house down and I'm running after them for a thousand
years, for them to turn around and say sorry. I think you have to have
incrimination, I think you have to have justice, courts involved etc -
it's got to be done the right way."
He urged fans to "join us in bringing justice to this cause".
Despite the band's outspoken stance on the Turkish government's
denial, they have a strong fanbase in Turkey and hope to perform in
the country soon.
Ottoman soldiers posing in front of Armenians they had hanged in
public in Alep in 1915Tankian told Rolling Stone that the band had
been subject to a smear campaign by the Turkish media but that their
Turkish fans had fought back against the false accusations.
"Our fans were the ones that protected us in Turkey. They wrote to
the editors of those newspapers who were planning this misinformation,
this disinformation, and fought for us. Our jaws dropped," he said.
He added that the band have written to the Turkish government asking
for permission to perform in the country but have yet to receive
a response.
Turkey has refused to acknowledge the atrocity as a "genocide",
claiming the number of Armenian victims has been inflated and that
massacres were committed by both sides.
The governments of 24 countries, including France, Italy, Russia and
Canada recognise the events of 1915 as a "genocide".
The British government does not, although the regional parliaments
and assemblies of Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland do.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVROP1rypag
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/system-of-a-down-perform-in-armenia-for-the-first-time-to-mark-genocides-100th-anniversary-10197847.html
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress