Glendale News-Press
April 4, 2005
A web of remembrances for genocide
20-year-old started a website where events commemorating the genocide all
over the world can be listed.
By Jackson Bell, News-Press and Leader
Armen Vartanian wanted to do his part in honoring those killed in the 1915
Armenian genocide.
So three years ago, Vartanian set up a website that lists events around the
world for people to commemorate the genocide, in which the Ottoman Turks are
said to have killed more than 1.5-million Armenians.
“I saw that the public needed a service like this,” the 20-year-old
Crescenta Valley High School graduate said. “This also shows everyone — not
just Armenians — how to commemorate the genocide, and that the past is not
forgotten.”
This year is especially important since April 24 will mark the 90th
anniversary of the genocide, Vartanian said.
The website, , was activated March 24 and will
run through the end of the month. The listings will then be removed by May
and replaced by hundreds of photos taken at the events and submitted to
Vartanian.
The website also features video clips about the genocide from broadcast news
sources.
“It’s like a central hub,” Vartanian said. “It brings all the events
together to a central place so people can find what’s happening in a fast
and easy way.”
Although Vartanian started and designed the website and posts all the
listings, his brother Aram Vartanian makes sure it is online at all times.
The two own and operate Fast Web Design on Broadway.
Aram Vartanian mainly works to keep hackers from disrupting the website.
“They would hack into the system and redirect it to Turkish websites that
say false information like the genocide never happened,” Aram Vartanian
said.
The ultimate mission of the website is to dispel that belief, Armen
Vartanian said, adding that he also wants the United States to acknowledge
the genocide.
“We want recognition not only from Turkey but the United States,” he said.