BEIRUT — Lebanon’s leaders and Armenian political parties marked Friday the 111th anniversary of the Armenian genocide carried out, honoring the 1.5 million victims and reiterating calls for recognition and justice.
President Joseph Aoun paid tribute to the victims of what he described as a “human tragedy,” during which Armenians died as a result of deportations, starvation and massacres carried out by the Ottoman Empire between 1915 and 1923. In a message posted on X, Aoun said he commemorated “with deep sorrow” those who perished and recalled that Lebanon “became a safe haven for Armenians, who found a second homeland here, contributing to its construction and prosperity, and becoming an integral part of its national fabric and rich diversity.” He also called for “preserving collective memory, strengthening the values of justice and human dignity, and working toward a future based on peace and mutual respect among peoples.” About 150,000 people of Armenian descent live in Lebanon.
Lebanon’s three main Armenian parties — Tashnag, Hentchak and Ramgavar — also commemorated the anniversary during a gathering Thursday night at the Catholicosate in Antelias, attended by Aram I Keshishian, Catholicos of the Armenians of Cilicia. In a joint statement, the parties said Armenians arrived in Lebanon displaced and “overwhelmed by the suffering of the genocide,” but managed to rebuild their lives, contribute to the country and become “an integral part of its social fabric.”
They called for recognition of the Armenian genocide as a “legal and moral duty,” noting that several countries, led by Turkey and Azerbaijan, continue to deny such recognition. The parties also demanded justice following the “ethnic cleansing” in Nagorno-Karabakh, a once-disputed region whose sovereignty was recognized by Yerevan as belonging to Baku in March 2025 after years of conflict. For his part, Aram I reaffirmed “his attachment to the sovereignty of Lebanon and to the unity of its territory.”
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