Armenians in Zakho in Iraqi Kurdistan mark anniversary of genocide

May 2, 2017 By administrator

Armenians residing in the Kurdish city of Zakho, near the border with Turkey, massively mobilized to commemorate the 102nd anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. They themselves came from the families of the displaced and deported dispersed in the Ottoman Empire by the Turkish authorities of the time and who found refuge in these mountainous regions populated mainly by Kurds and confining with the Autonomous Kurdistan of Iraq . There are currently some 200 Armenian families in the town of Zakho, who feel safe in this town about 200 km north-west of Erbil, the capital of autonomous Kurdistan, which in recent years has hosted a large number Christians, including Armenians, but also members of other religious minorities, such as the Yezidis, who had to flee the persecution and massacre perpetrated in other parts of Iraq by the jihadists of the Islamic state. “We are only a handful in Kurdistan. But thanks to God, we enjoy most of our rights, “said Ishkhan Milko, an Armenian member of the Duhok Provincial Council.

The Armenians have a seat in this Regional Council and a seat in the Parliament of Autonomous Kurdistan. Although Armenians are few in number, they still hold the painful memory of a history marked by the genocide of 24 April 1915. “The Armenians emigrated from Bitlis, Erzurum, Van, Mush, And other localities in Northern Kurdistan [in Turquoise], “said Dr. Hogir Mohammed, a Kurdish researcher on the Armenian genocide, referring to the fate of the inhabitants of the Turkish cities to the east and South-eastern region of Turkey, a region more commonly referred to as Kurdistan than Armenia by the Kurds. “They have traveled on different roads, some passing through the Syrian desert, and some of them have chosen to settle in Syria, others to Jordan and Egypt. Some others came to settle in Iraqi Kurdistan, where the city of Zakho was the gateway, “said the Kurdish researcher who recalled that Zakho has an Armenian school, which was founded in 1969.” Many Muslims frequented The school of the Church. We were studying alongside the Armenians, and then they came here, “said Fahmi Ahmad, the director of the Armenian school, talking nostalgically about the time when the Armenians and Muslims were studying side by side. Islam, Muslims to Christianity “.

Tuesday, May 2, 2017,
Gari © armenews.com

Lyon France Armenians stage protest near Turkey consulate general

April 23, 2017 By administrator

About 100 French Armenians assembled nearby the Consulate General of Turkey in Lyon on Saturday, the eve of the 102nd anniversary of Armenian Genocide.

Also, the picketers held a banner that read, “Armenian Genocide, Unpunished Genocide.”

But no offenses or clashes were recorded at the demonstration, reported mLyon.

On April 24, Armenians and the civilized world honor the more than 1.5 million Armenians that were killed in this atrocious crime, which the Ottoman Empire had committed against humanity.

All Armenian intellectuals in Constantinople—Istanbul of today—were arrested on April 24, 1915, and killed. Hence, April 24 has become the Armenian Genocide commemoration day.

Numerous countries and most of the US states have formally recognized and condemned this tragedy.

This calamity is recognized also by the Vatican, the European Parliament, and the World Council of Churches.

Rally in Amsterdam to commemorate the Armenian Genocide anniversary

April 23, 2017 By administrator

Armenian organizations of the Netherlands held a protest march on Saturday in Amsterdam to commemorate the 102nd anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

As the Facebook page “Diary of the Netherlands” reports, the event kick-started from Amsterdam Centre Stopera and marched through the city central streets. Participants of the rally observed a moment of silence to honor the victims of the Armenian genocide.

According to the source, representatives of Turkish, Kurdish, Assyrian as well as Armenian and Dutch public and political figures attended d the commemorative event.

Armenians in China Commemorate 101th Genocide Anniversary

April 30, 2016 By administrator

armenian in China Guanzhou, China (A.W.)—The Armenian community of China, commonly known as ChinaHay, organized numerous gatherings across China on April 24, including in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Hong Kong, to commemorate the 101st anniversary of the Armenian Genocide

“Hundreds of Armenian survivors from across the Ottoman Empire escaped eastward across the Caucasus and Russia, seeking refuge in China. They not only rebuilt their lives, but reconstituted community life and built a church (Harbin) and community centers in different cities. They established a relief association, youth groups, Armenian language and history classes, and a choir,” said Dr. Khatchig Mouradian, a genocide scholar whose research has also focused on the Armenian communities in China in the 19th and 20th centuries.

“It is particularly moving that 101 years after the genocide, Armenians in some of these very same cities held commemoration events on April 24,” he added.

Small yet vibrant Armenian communities existed primarily in Harbin, Shanghai, Manzhouli, Tientsin, and Hong Kong from the late-19th to the mid-20th centuries. Most Armenians left for the Americas or for Soviet Armenia by the 1950’s. Today’s Armenian community in China is only a few decades old, and is primarily comprised of professionals and business people from the Middle East and North America, as well as university students from Armenia and other Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries, noted Mouradian.

(VIDEO) Montebello CA. US Dignitaries Join Armenians to Commemorate 101 Armenian Genocide

April 24, 2016 By administrator

Motebillo Armenian genocide As we remember the 1.5 million lives lost to this atrocity, we are reminded of our obligation to acknowledge the horrors of the past and condemn the aggression of today. I am deeply troubled by recent reports of violence out of Nagorno-Karabakh, due to a break in the ceasefire negotiated with Azerbaijan in 1994. This violence has a deep impact in L.A. and surrounding areas, which is home to the largest Armenian community outside of Armenia. The path to a resolution in this conflict must be one of peace and not war.

In standing up for this annual commemoration, and against the violence of today, we bend the arc of history toward a truth that cannot be denied: the Armenian people have endured great suffering that deserves full and unqualified acknowledgment — and they should never stand alone in the demand for justice.”

Today Armenians around the world mark 101 years since the beginning of the #Armenia Genocide, #Turkey in denial pic.twitter.com/xpNeyCOzzp

— Wally Sarkeesian (@gagrulenet) April 24, 2016

Istanbul hosts rally to commemorate Armenian Genocide

April 24, 2016 By administrator

210956 Istanbul’s Galatasaray Square hosted a rally in commemoration of the Armenian Genocide.

The rally participants were holding pictures of outstanding Armenians murdered on April 24, 1915, urging Turkey to face its history, Tert.am reports.

As human rights lawyer Sezgin Tanrıkulu stressed during the rally, it was thanks to the MP of Armenian decent Garo Paylan that the parliament of Turkey commemorated the slain representatives of the Armenian intellectual elite.

In his earlier address, Paylan demanded a parliamentary probe for investigating the killing of Krikor Zohrab, Ohannes Vartkes Serengülyan, Nazaret Dagavaryan, Garabed Pasayan, Isdepan Çiraciyan, Onnik Tertsakyan [Arsak Vramyan] and Hampartsum Boyaciyan, spotting their graves and restoring the honor of those who served for the Chamber by holding proper burials for them.

Participating in the rally were the members of Turkey’s Republican People’s Party and Peoples’ Democratic Party, as well as the Jewish “anti-racist” organization.

Հայոց ցեղասպանության զոհերի ոգեկոչումը Շիշլիում. Ermenihaber.am

Russia: Thousands gather in Moscow for Genocide commemoration ceremony

April 24, 2016 By administrator

moscow Representatives of Armenia‘s Embassy in Russia, employees of Armenia’s mission in the CSTO and Karabakh’s mission in Moscow laid flowers at the Genocide memorial of the Armenian monastery complex in the Russian capital on Sunday, April 24.

Members of Russia’s Armenian community and thousands of Moscow residents attended the commemoration ceremony.

Afterwards, Primate of the Armenian Diocese of Russia and Nor Nakhichevan, Archbishop Ezras Nersisyan, read an intercessory prayer for the canonized martyrs of the Armenian Genocide at the Holy Transfiguration Cathedral.

Later, a demonstration was held in front of Turkey’s embassy in Moscow. The embassy building was surrounded by police officers and special mission units.

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Pasadena to commemorate Armenian Genocide at Memorial Park

March 24, 2016 By administrator

208774 The Pasadena Armenian Genocide Memorial Committee (PAGMC) invites the community to mark the one-year anniversary of the Pasadena Armenian Genocide Memorial on Sunday, April 17, at the Memorial Park, Pasadena Now reports.

Last year, 1500 people were moved and inspired on the 100th Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide and the unveiling of the Pasadena Memorial.

Residents and community members are urged to join Pasadena Armenian Genocide Memorial Committee this year on April 17 to celebrate the Armenian culture and visit the outstanding and moving memorial.

Glendale Unified officially adds day off to commemorate Armenian Genocide

March 17, 2016 By administrator

BY Arin Mikailian Contact Reporter

Thousands brought flags, signs and photos to the March for Justice commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide, on Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood on Friday, April 24, 2015. Glendale school officials wanted to locally brand the day, which until now was referred to only as a non-instructional day. (Raul Roa / Staff Photographer)

April 24 will be now designated “Armenian Genocide Commemoration Day” in the Glendale Unified School District after a unanimous vote by school board members on Tuesday.

Since the 2013-14 school year, students and teachers have been given the day off on April 24 — globally observed as the recognition of the Armenian Genocide — because so many of them take part in genocide events, such as the annual remembrance march through Hollywood.

However, school officials wanted to locally brand the day, which until now was referred to only as a non-instructional day.

“Every calendar in the school district, it’s going to be printed ‘Armenian Genocide [Commemoration] Day,” said board member Greg Krikorian. “It’s going to be embedded in there.”

Glendale Unified is the first school district in the country to establish a day in remembrance of the genocide, which began in 1915 and resulted in the killing of 1.5 million Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman Empire.

Glendale has one of the largest Armenian populations outside of Armenia.

Krikorian said the genocide remembrance day is also about welcoming other ethnicities to participate and learn about the genocide, adding that while growing up in Hartford, Conn., he learned a lot about the local Irish and Italian populations.

“I think it’s good to know what your neighbors and co-workers went through,” he said.

Christine Walters, board president, echoed those statements, saying the commemoration day is also a lesson about man’s inhumanity to man.

“I think for us to be able to really embrace our cultural history and our collective cultural history is extremely important and really educating students about how things can get out of control,” she said.

While it is important to afford people the time to observe April 24 in their own ways, it’s also significant for the day to have a label, said board member Armina Gharpetian.

“Naming the day has a lot more value and meaning to our students, to our teachers, to the whole entire district and the city,” she said.

Elen Asatryan, executive director of the Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region, praised the decision during the school board meeting.

She spoke of the massive relief effort by the United States immediately following the Armenian Genocide in the form of aid, including opening 400 orphanages and caring for 132,000 orphans. Establishing “Armenian Genocide Commemoration Day” is a way of expressing appreciation for that aid, Asatryan said.

“You’re also commemorating those who have really risked their lives and gone overseas during that time to really help save the Armenian nation,” she said.

Armenians in China organize Genocide centennial events

April 27, 2015 By administrator

The Armenian Community of China organized a landmark series of cultural and artistic events in cities across China, to mark the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide. These events, held in Beijing, Nanjing and Shanghai during the weekend of April 24-25, shared the Armenian history, art and culture with the Chinese people on a historic occasion.

The highlight of the weekend was the main gathering in Nanjing,which was chosen in solidarity with China, as it was in Nanjing that Japanese troops massacred hundreds of thousands of Chinese during the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937. As with the Armenian Genocide, it is an event that still goes unrecognized by its perpetrators.

In the Exhibition Hall of the Art Institute of Nanjing, celebrated Armenian painter Sevada Grigoryan presented his collection entitled “Awakening.” The opening ceremony started with the sounds of Duduk, Vahe Der-Hovakimian performed Dle Yaman, which is considered to be the symbol of the Armenian Genocide In parallel, Michael Hayrapetyan, a talented pianist and associate professor at the Moscow University of Art and Culture, performed at the Concert Hall of the Nanjing Institute of Art. His musical piece, “The Secrets of Armenia,” was inspired by the work of classical Armenian composers.

“It is a big honor to share our musical history with our Chinese friends,” said Hayrapetyan, who resides in China and regularly performs for Chinese audiences.

The musical performance was followed by an evening of remembrance, during which Chinese and Armenian guests shared their family histories. The documentary “The River Ran Red” by Mickayel Hakobian, which was recently translated into Chinese for the first time, was shown to the attendees.

“It was a very touching evening and reinforced the solidarity between the Armenian and Chinese,” said Lee Yen, a resident of Nanjing.

One day before, on April 24 an Armenian cultural evening, dedicated to the remembrance of the Armenian Genocide, was held in the prestigious Bund area of Shanghai. An audience of both Chinese and Armenian attendees enjoyed a performance of classical music and Armenian dance, as well as an art exhibition of works by Chinese students inspired by the events of the Armenian Genocide.

“Our goal was to share with our Chinese friends our rich artistic history, while highlighting the common threads of our two ancient cultures,” said Astghik Poghosyan, an accomplished Armenian violinist. Poghosyan has studied in China for five years and regularly performs on Chinese television. The evening concluded with a candle lighting ceremony in remembrance of the 1.5 million Armenians who were systematically massacred by the Ottoman Turks in 1915.

That same night the Embassy of the Republic of Armenia in Beijing hosted renowned documentary filmmaker Ruben Giney, a resident of China since 2004. Giney presented his latest award-winning documentary, entitled “Andin: Armenian Journey Chronicles.” The film recounts the long history of Armenians in China and the historical links between the two civilizations.

“China has welcomed Armenians for hundreds of years,” said Henri Arslanian, President of the Armenian community of China. “There are many similarities between our nations and cultures. We wanted to share a taste of Armenian culture, as a way to thank our Chinese friends for welcoming us to their country.”

The Armenian Community of China, also known as ChinaHay, has been growing tremendously in recent years. Its members mainly live in the cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hong Kong.