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Las Vegas Sun, NV
Feb 1 2015
Genocide monument breaks new ground for Clark County
February 1, 2015
by Conor Shine
A tragedy that began a century ago in the Middle East is being
memorialized in what may seem like an unlikely place -- Sunset Park.
Thanks to the dedication of Las Vegas' Armenian-American community, an
estimated 1 million to 1.5 million victims of World War I-era genocide
of Armenians will be honored with a monument in the park.
"The genocide is a part of our history, it's part of our identity,"
said Andy Armenian, who helped lead the monument planning effort. "The
monument will be a healing process for the community. For the broader
(Las Vegas) community, we hope this monument will serve as a history
reminder and with that be a deterrent to future genocides."
The monument is a major accomplishment for Las Vegas' Armenian
community, which has been working for five years to raise money and
get permission to put the sculpture in one of the region's biggest
parks.
It's also opening the door for other public monuments to be placed
around the valley. During a yearlong debate about whether to allow the
Armenian Genocide monument, Clark County commissioners realized they
had no rules in place for deciding whether to green light requests for
proposed monuments. The result was a new policy, passed in December,
that lays out guidelines for how to get monuments approved for display
in public spaces.
Monuments must address historic events, groups or people, have
relevance to the broader community and be meaningful to future
generations. They can't include religious speech and can be denied if
they're considered objectionable to the general community. Other
guidelines cover the look and location, and bar monuments from parks
smaller than 25 acres.
Commissioner Mary Beth Scow, whose district includes Sunset Park, said
the rules ensure anyone requesting permission to build a monument in a
park would receive a fair chance at approval. It also gives the county
flexibility to deny proposals that don't meet the requirements.
"I think (the Armenian genocide monument) hits the criteria," she
said. "It's timeless. It has a lot of community significance. I don't
think a lot of people are aware of that genocide. It's important for
people to see, so we don't forget something like that and don't repeat
it."
Monuments also must be privately funded, something the Armenian
American Cultural Society of Las Vegas accomplished by raising more
than $100,000 to pay for construction and long-term maintenance.
Andy Armenian said Sunset Park was chosen because of its proximity to
the Armenian community's largest church, at Eastern Avenue and Desert
Inn Road.
"It's centrally located in Las Vegas," he said. "It's one of the
largest and most visited parks. At the same time, many Armenian
families live within five to 10 minutes of Sunset Park."
Las Vegas' monument is modeled after a similar sculpture in Armenia,
with 12 decorative concrete pillars representing the 12 provinces
where Armenians were killed during the genocide. Construction is
expected to begin in the next three months and finish in about a year.
BOX:
What is the Armenian Genocide?
The Armenian Genocide began April 24, 1915, when the Ottoman
government in what today is Turkey arrested about 200 Armenian
community leaders. Systematic killing of Armenian men followed, and
women, children and the elderly were forced out of their homeland on
death marches to the Syrian desert.
Between 1 million and 1.5 million Armenians were killed in what is
considered one of the first modern genocides. The remaining Armenian
community was scattered in a diaspora, eventually settling around the
world, including in the United States.
Controversially, the Turkish government, which succeeded the Ottoman
Empire, still disputes the use of the term genocide to describe the
mass killings.
http://lasvegassun.com/news/2015/feb/01/genocide-monument-breaks-new-ground-clark-county/
Feb 1 2015
Genocide monument breaks new ground for Clark County
February 1, 2015
by Conor Shine
A tragedy that began a century ago in the Middle East is being
memorialized in what may seem like an unlikely place -- Sunset Park.
Thanks to the dedication of Las Vegas' Armenian-American community, an
estimated 1 million to 1.5 million victims of World War I-era genocide
of Armenians will be honored with a monument in the park.
"The genocide is a part of our history, it's part of our identity,"
said Andy Armenian, who helped lead the monument planning effort. "The
monument will be a healing process for the community. For the broader
(Las Vegas) community, we hope this monument will serve as a history
reminder and with that be a deterrent to future genocides."
The monument is a major accomplishment for Las Vegas' Armenian
community, which has been working for five years to raise money and
get permission to put the sculpture in one of the region's biggest
parks.
It's also opening the door for other public monuments to be placed
around the valley. During a yearlong debate about whether to allow the
Armenian Genocide monument, Clark County commissioners realized they
had no rules in place for deciding whether to green light requests for
proposed monuments. The result was a new policy, passed in December,
that lays out guidelines for how to get monuments approved for display
in public spaces.
Monuments must address historic events, groups or people, have
relevance to the broader community and be meaningful to future
generations. They can't include religious speech and can be denied if
they're considered objectionable to the general community. Other
guidelines cover the look and location, and bar monuments from parks
smaller than 25 acres.
Commissioner Mary Beth Scow, whose district includes Sunset Park, said
the rules ensure anyone requesting permission to build a monument in a
park would receive a fair chance at approval. It also gives the county
flexibility to deny proposals that don't meet the requirements.
"I think (the Armenian genocide monument) hits the criteria," she
said. "It's timeless. It has a lot of community significance. I don't
think a lot of people are aware of that genocide. It's important for
people to see, so we don't forget something like that and don't repeat
it."
Monuments also must be privately funded, something the Armenian
American Cultural Society of Las Vegas accomplished by raising more
than $100,000 to pay for construction and long-term maintenance.
Andy Armenian said Sunset Park was chosen because of its proximity to
the Armenian community's largest church, at Eastern Avenue and Desert
Inn Road.
"It's centrally located in Las Vegas," he said. "It's one of the
largest and most visited parks. At the same time, many Armenian
families live within five to 10 minutes of Sunset Park."
Las Vegas' monument is modeled after a similar sculpture in Armenia,
with 12 decorative concrete pillars representing the 12 provinces
where Armenians were killed during the genocide. Construction is
expected to begin in the next three months and finish in about a year.
BOX:
What is the Armenian Genocide?
The Armenian Genocide began April 24, 1915, when the Ottoman
government in what today is Turkey arrested about 200 Armenian
community leaders. Systematic killing of Armenian men followed, and
women, children and the elderly were forced out of their homeland on
death marches to the Syrian desert.
Between 1 million and 1.5 million Armenians were killed in what is
considered one of the first modern genocides. The remaining Armenian
community was scattered in a diaspora, eventually settling around the
world, including in the United States.
Controversially, the Turkish government, which succeeded the Ottoman
Empire, still disputes the use of the term genocide to describe the
mass killings.
http://lasvegassun.com/news/2015/feb/01/genocide-monument-breaks-new-ground-clark-county/