monument Archives

IRAN A Monument to Armenian Genocide opened in Tehran

January 25, 2015 By administrator

A monument dedicated to the victims of the Armenian Genocide was erected in the courtyard of the Catholic Church of Saint Gregory the Illuminator in Tehran.

As reported by the Armenian Alik daily Iran monument was dedicated by Patriarch Nerses Petros XIX. In his speech after the consecration, the Patriarch said that the existence of a monument dedicated to the Armenian Genocide side of the church remind heirs of Armenian Genocide victims once again their Armenian roots and values from these roots, and the need to preserve national identity and to obtain the rights that have been stolen from the Armenians.

The patriarch also said that Pope Francis will be present at a Divine Liturgy dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide at the Vatican April 12, 2015.

Sunday, January 25, 2015,
Stéphane © armenews.com

Assyrian Genocide Monument Unveiled in Athens

October 21, 2014 By administrator

ATHENS (Greek Reporter)—A memorial for the Assyrian victims of the Turkish genocide of Christians during World War I was unveiled in Athens, Greece, a city that hosts approximately 8,000 Assyrians. According to estimates from that era, the Turkish genocide claimed 750,000 Assyrians, 1.5 million Armenians and 500,000 Pontic Greeks.

The ceremony for the unveiling of the monument was attended by four hundred people, including members of the Assyrian, Greek and Armenian communities, as well as representatives from the Armenian embassy. The monument was officially presented by the current and former Mayors of the Greek capital.

President of the Assyrian Union of Greece Kyriakos Betsaras opened the ceremony, while both the Director of the Assyrian Genocide Research Center, Sabri Atman, and the former Mayor of Egaleo gave speeches.

The three communities have cooperated in the past regarding the issue of the Turkish genocide. In fact, in 2010, the Greek Parliament held a discussion on the topic of “Three Genocides, One Strategy.”

Discussions about the erection of a monument began almost three years ago, and last year, the Assyrian Union of Greece’s request to build a monument to commemorate the victims of the Assyrian genocide was met.

This is the world’s 9th Assyrian genocide monument. Other monuments have been erected in: Jonkoping, Sweden; Liege, Belgium; Arnouville, France; Yerevan, Armenia; Fairfield, Australia; Wales, United Kingdom; Los Angeles, California; Chicago, Illinois.

Armenian Genocide monument unveiled in Massachusetts

May 27, 2014 By administrator

May 27, 2014 – 09:31 AMT

A monument to Armenian Genocide victims was unveiled earlier this month at Lowell City Hall, Massachusetts.

While other monument unveilings went through some tenuous moments in other parts of the world, this one was dedicated and blessed with fanfare as various churches and organizations staged a united stand behind a group called the Merrimack Valley Armenian Monument Committee, according to the Armenian Weekly.

The stone exceeds six feet in length and takes its place in Monument Park where other ethnic groups are represented. Anyone entering or leaving the building is bound to take notice.

The mother’s hands jets out over a khatchkar (cross-stone) wrapped around an elaborate border with an emotional message below. At the base, an inscription reads, “In Memory” in Armenian.

“There are approximately 230 monuments dedicated to the Armenian Genocide in 42 countries around the world,” said artistic designer Daniel Varoujan Hejinian. “Most of these monuments are located in land belonging to Armenian churches and organizations. What’s so special about this is the fact it is a first in the diaspora—an Armenian Genocide memorial in front of a government building.”

Combined with bronze and granite, the stone shows a mother’s weaving hands sculptured in clay, then refined through an elaborate process to exude a 3-dimensional effect.

As a model, the artist used his sister Lena’s hands. Buried into the foundation of the stone was an actual piece of crochet done by Hejinian’s mother as a symbolic gesture of his family history and the qualities that enhanced the concept.

“In spite of the pain and horror of our genocide, the Armenian people everywhere cast their hopes and dreams, knot by knot, as they bloom and prosper,” added Hejinian, who has personally put up more than 50 genocide billboards around Greater Boston over the past 18 years.

“Our mothers were dream weavers,” he said. “They worked the mills in Lowell, holding down nearly two-thirds of all textile jobs in this city. They came here to weave the fabric of our culture and we owe them all a debt of gratitude.”

In attendance was also 102-year-old Nellie Nazarian, the lone genocide survivor in Merrimack Valley, joined by her family.

The Armenian Weekly. Lowell Genocide Memorial Gets Rave Notice