Armenian Genocide commemorative billboards displayed in Boston streets
15:16 05.04.2014
During the month of April, the 2014 Armenian Genocide commemorative
billboards will be displayed at the corner of Arsenal and School Streets in
Watertown; on Cambridge Street, at the Lechmere Station in Cambridge; and
on Route 1 South, 1/4 mile from the Gillette Stadium, in Foxboro.
Sponsored by Peace of Art, Inc., ,
the 2014 Armenian Genocide commemorative billboards honor the victims and
survivors of the Armenian Genocide. In this year’s message “Recognize the
Crime of the Century, the Armenian Genocide,” the word ‘genocide’ has
imbedded the number 100, and handcuffs. The number 100 refers to the
approaching 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. The handcuffs refer
to a century of victimization and denial by the perpetrators of the
Armenian Genocide and their supporters. The Armenian Genocide was the crime
of the century because it was the first genocide of the 20th century. Had
the genocide been condemned by the world community, the governments that
followed most likely would not have used genocide as the means to eliminate
unwanted groups of their populations segregated by race, religion or
ethnicity.
Millions of people around the world have been killed, victims of genocide,
for political motives, and ethnic cleansing. Since the Armenian genocide
took place in the beginning of the 20th century, genocide has become an
effective tool of war, to eliminate unwanted sectors of the population
segregated by race, or religion, or ethnicity. As the Armenian people
struggle for recognition of the crime of the century, the world remains
‘blind’ to crimes against humanity perpetrated around the globe. The world
community must recognize the Armenian genocide and condemn such crimes
against humanity.
Since 2003, through the annual commemorative billboards, Peace of Art,
Inc., has been calling for the recognition of the
Armenian Genocide, and it has urged the community at large, the President
of the United States, and the United Nations to recognize the Armenian
Genocide. It is time to urge Turkey to recognize the Armenian Genocide, and
to make amends.
“To deny the Armenian Genocide is to further victimize those who perished
and their descendants, it is an act of blaming the victims. After a century
of denial, it is time to place the ‘handcuffs’ on the criminals. For those
who think that after the last survivor dies there will be no more
witnesses, and with the passing of time the Armenian genocide will be
forgotten, know that all Armenians are survivors of the genocide, and as
long as the Armenian genocide remains unrecognized by Turkey, millions of
Armenians around the world will demand recognition and justice.” Said the
president of Peace of Art, Inc., Daniel Varoujan Hejinian.