PRESS RELEASE
Armenian Genocide Centennial
Fresno Committee
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CENTRAL VALLEY BREAKS GROUND ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE MONUMENT
Fresno’ Central Valley Armenians broke ground on a widely anticipated
Armenian Genocide Centennial Monument dedicated to the 1.5 million
Armenian martyrs who perished at the hands of the Ottoman Turkish
government during the period 1915’1923. Hundreds of community members
gathered on Sunday, November 2, at Fresno State’s Maple Mall, where
the memorial will be completed in time for its dedication on April 24,
2015.
Faten Myaznih-Kassabian and students from the Charlie Keyan Armenian
School opened the ceremony with the American and Armenian national
anthems, respectively, while the Homenentmen Fresno Sassoon chapter
scouts presented the American and Armenian flags. Rev. Gregory
Haroutunian of the First Armenian Presbyterian Church gave the
invocation.
Professor Barlow Der Mugrdechian, Coordinator of the Fresno State
Armenian Studies Program, welcomed the audience by recognizing the
historic importance of the day’s ceremony as well as the meaning and
purpose behind the monument.
`We are witnessing a new period in the history of our community,’ said
Der Mugrdechian. `We are working together to build a visible monument
to symbolize our collective spirit, to commemorate, to educate the
world, and to inspire future generations.’
The groundbreaking ceremony is one in a series of centennial events by
the Armenian Genocide Centennial’Fresno Committee, the organization
that is raising funds and coordinating construction of the
monument. Many of the reasons why Fresno State was chosen as the
monument’s site were articulated by Fresno State President Dr. Joseph
Castro, who acknowledged the Armenian Studies Program as one of the
foremost programs in the nation and asserted the university’s
commitment to diversity and education.
`This monument will inform and educate people about the Armenian
Genocide and bring awareness to the problem of genocide throughout
history and throughout the world as a global issue.’ Dr. Castro
concluded his message with the declaration `Menk pnav chenk mornar’
(We will never forget.)
According to Dr. Cynthia Teniente-Matson, Fresno State Vice-President
for Administration, the monument will be positioned along the most
popular and heavily-used walkway on the campus, thus making it a focal
point of the campus.
Recognition from the world community and justice from the Republic of
Turkey are ongoing pursuits of the Armenian people and very much part
of the agenda of the Republic of Armenia, said Levon Minasyan, Consul
of the Republic of Armenia in Los Angeles.
`We believe that the only way to prevent genocide and crimes against
humanity is international recognition and condemnation of these
crimes¦with all legal consequences,’ stated Minasyan. `The
distortion of historical fact and reality by Turkey cannot continue
forever. We believe and hope that healthy conscience will prevail in
Turkey, and the Turkish government will reconcile the reality of the
Armenian Genocide, a crime against Armenians and humanity.’
A central part of the November 2 event was a religious service to
consecrate the site of the monument. Four plates of soil’brought from
the Republic of Armenia, the border between the republic and historic
Western Armenia, and various regions of Western Armenia’were presented
by community members Sarkis Sahatdjian, Debbie Adishian-Astone, Marine
Vardanyan, and Areen Yemenjian and combined together in a single
platter. Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, Primate of the Western Diocese
and Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate of the Western Prelacy
of the Armenian Apostolic Church led local clergy in blessing the
sacred ground, held by Zareh Apkarian and Sevana Wassilian, students
of the Charlie Keyan Armenian Community School. The religious leaders
each took the podium to mark the historic occasion.
`We remember. We demand. This is the motto of the centennial
commemoration,’ said Archbishop Mardirossian. `We are empowered,
because this groundbreaking ceremony today sends a resounding message
to Turkey and to the world that, yes, 100 years have passed, but the
Armenian people will never forget¦In the end, the truth always
prevails¦ The groundbreaking of this monument drives and inspires
us to keep educating, to keep demanding, and to keep hoping.’
Emphasizing the historical and current accomplishments and mission of
Armenian-Americans, Derderian remarked:
`This monument and all monuments will remind us that we as Armenians,
each and every one of us, are living monuments to the martyrs of the
Armenian Genocide¦This monument will be the symbol of the
resurrected life of our nation. We will commit ourselves to uphold
firm our Christian identity and send a clear message to the people of
this great country that we are equally builders of this great land and
in doing so, we are dedicated citizens in bringing justice to the
memory of the martyrs of the first genocide of the 20th century.’
Other speakers included Congressman Jim Costa; Assembly Member Jim
Patterson; Varoujan Der Simonian, Vice President of the AGC’Fresno
Committee; and Berj Apkarian, the recently appointed Honorary Consul
of the Republic of Armenia in Fresno and head of the AGC’Fresno
Committee Monument subcommittee.
The ceremony concluded with the students placing the blessed soil at
what will become the center of monument.
Designed by Fresno architect Paul Halajian, the monument will embody
symbols of cultural meaning to the Armenian people. Its principal
components will be arranged in a circular pattern and angled inwards,
reminiscent of the Tzitzernagapert monument in Armenia. Built from
béton brut and Tufa stones, the nine pillars that make-up the body
of the structure represent the six provinces of historic
WesternArmenia (Van, Bitlis, Dickranagerd, Kharpert, Sepastia, and
Erzerum), Cilicia, the Diaspora, and the Republic of Armenia. The
pillars will gradually descend in height around the circle, with the
first measuring 19 feet high and the last 15 feet to underscore the
significance of the year 1915. An incomplete halo will be set above on
top of the pillars, symbolizing both the fracture left by the Genocide
and the unity of the Armenian people.
The AGC’Fresno Committee includes representatives from the religious,
educational, social, and political organizations of the Central
Valley. The group’s goals are to commemorate the 1.5 million martyrs
who perished at the hands of the Ottoman Turkish Government; to
educate others about the Armenian Genocide and historical injustice;
and to inspire people to overcome adversity through the story of the
survivors’ of the Armenian Genocide. The AGC’Fresno Committee is
organizing and promoting numerous events in the coming year. For more
information, visit the AGC’Fresno Committee’s website at
and on Facebook at
From: A. Papazian