PRESS RELEASE
April 24 NYC
Email: [email protected]
Web:
99h ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATION OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE TO BE HELD IN
TIMES SQUARE SUNDAY, APRIL 27, 2014 2-4 PM
HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY WILL ALSO BE HONORED
NY, NY– On Sunday, April 27, 2014 from 2-4 pm, thousands of devoted
Armenian-Americans and their friends and supporters will gather in Times
Square (43rd St. & Broadway) to commemorate the first genocide of the 20th
Century, The Armenian Genocide (Medz Yeghern). In recognition of Genocide
Awareness Month (April), Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom HaShoah) will also
be commemorated, as well as other genocides that have occurred since then.
The theme of the Armenian Genocide Commemoration is “Turkey is Guilty of
Genocide: Denying the Undeniable is a Crime.” This historic event will pay
tribute to the 1.5 million Armenians who were annihilated by the Young Turk
Government of the Ottoman Empire and to the millions of victims of
subsequent genocides worldwide. Speakers will include civic, religious,
humanitarian, educational, cultural leaders, as well as performing artists.
This event is free and open to the public. Dr. Mary A. Papazian, President
of Southern Connecticut State University and Attorney R. Armen McOmber will
preside over the ceremonies.
Dennis R. Papazian, PhD, past National Grand Commander of Knights of Vartan
and Founding Director of the Armenian Research Center at the University of
Michigan-Dearborn discusses the Armenian Genocide. “These killings, which
were labeled crimes against humanity and civilization at the time, exactly
fit the definition of the word genocide, which was coined by Raphael
Lemkin, a Polish-Jewish lawyer in 1943,” comments Papazian. “It is only
proper to bring the terminology up to date and apply the international laws
for genocide to the Armenian case.”
Papazian headed the Armenian Assembly of America in 1975, when a
non-binding resolution recognizing the mass killings as genocide, passed
through Congress. On April 22, 1981, then-President Ronald Reagan issued
Proclamation #4838 that summoned Americans to commemorate the anniversary
of the liberation of the Nazi death camps. The proclamation stated, “Like
the genocide of the Armenians before it, and the genocide of the Cambodians
which followed it–and like too many other persecutions of too many other
peoples–the lessons of the Holocaust must never be forgotten.”
Papazian further discusses that President Barack Obama used the Armenian
phrase Medz Yeghern, which is the equivalent of the phrase genocide in
the Armenian language, in a statement issued to commemorate Armenian
Remembrance Day on April 24, 2013. “But still the U.S. position is still
kept ambiguous about using the word genocide because our country fears
alienating Turkey, an important country in the Middle East,” he adds.
“In the long run, Turkish recognition of the Armenian Genocide is critical,
since Turkey is the responsible successive government of the Ottoman
Empire,” stresses Papazian. “In recent years there have been some positive
developments among progressive Turkish intellectuals, including the
grandson of one of the chief perpetrators; therefore, it is within the
realm of possibility that Turkey itself will recognize the Armenian
Genocide on the one hundredth anniversary of its beginning,” he concludes.
The 99th Commemoration is organized by the Mid-Atlantic chapters of the
Knights & Daughters of Vartan (), an international Armenian
fraternal organization headquartered in the United States, and co-sponsored
by the Armenian General Benevolent Union (
), the Armenian Assembly of America (),
the Armenian National Committee of America (
), the Armenian Council of America and the Armenian
Democratic League (Ramgavar Party).
Participating organizations include the Diocese of the Armenian Church of
America, Prelacy of the Armenian Church of America, Armenian Missionary
Association of America, Armenian Catholic Eparchy for U.S. and Canada, the
Armenian Church Youth Organization of America (ACYOA), the Armenian Youth
Federation (AYF-YOARF), several Armenian youth organizations, and
university and college Armenian clubs.
For more information please visit, ,
,
,
,
,
###