Merrimack Valley ANC leads Armenian flag raisings

Babken Chilingarian 2022
 Muriel Parseghian Community News 0

MVANC-sponsored flag raising in Lowell. Attendees pictured with Lowell Mayor Sokhary Chau, a Cambodian Genocide survivor.

To commemorate the 107th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, the Merrimack Valley Armenian National Committee (MVANC) held flag raising ceremonies and readings of proclamations in Greater Lowell and Southern New Hampshire.

“This is the second year we have initiated this effort, and we intend to continue adding other towns to the list,” said MVANC co-chair and master of ceremonies Greg Minasian.

Armenian flags were raised in Lowell, Dracut, Westford, Methuen, North Andover and Billerica. The New Hampshire town of Hollis and the cities of Nashua and Manchester also had flag raising ceremonies, all sponsored by the MVANC.

Proclamations were issued by the town of Salem, NH and the Massachusetts towns of Andover and Chelmsford.

Dozens of Armenians participated in the week-long commemoration. Town officials also participated in remembrance and stressed the demand for justice.

“We are pleased that so many cities and towns have given us the opportunity not only to publicly commemorate, but also to provide us with a platform to voice our current and continuing struggles,” said MVANC co-chair Ara Jeknavorian.

MVANC-sponsored flag raising in Dracut, Massachusetts

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Muriel “Mimi” Parseghian served as editor of the Armenian Weekly from June 1984 to June 1989. Mimi immigrated to the U.S. from her birthplace, Marseille, France, in 1963. She was educated in the Lowell, Mass. public school system and received her BA in History from Northeastern University in 1976. Prior to her tenure at the Armenian Weekly, Mimi spent nine months in Beirut attending the Nishan Palandjian Jemaran's Armenian Studies Program. Mimi has been an active member of the ARF since 1977 and the Armenian Relief Society (ARS) since 1979. She has previously served on the ARS Eastern U.S. Board of Directors. After leaving the Hairenik Publications, she joined the private sector in the field of sales and marketing.