PRESS RELEASE
Armen Karo Student Association
397 Boul Des Prairies, 3rd Floor
Laval, Quebec
Canada H7N 2WP
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 450-505-1032
Web:
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Montreal – On Tuesday March 23 2010, the United Armenian Youth Committee of
Quebec commemorated the 95th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide at the
John Molson School of Business building, Concordia University. The event was
entitled `Genocide Awareness Day’ and it was in memory of the victims of the
Armenian, Rwandan, Darfuri, Cambodian Genocides and the Holocaust. The hall
was filled with three hundred attendees making it one of the most successful
Genocide-related events in Montreal.
The United Armenian Youth Committee of Quebec worked in collaboration with
many local organizations and so, this event was sponsored by: STAND Canada,
The Montreal Holocaust Memorial Centre, Hillel Montreal, Montreal Institute
of Genocide Studies at Concordia & Canadian Friends of Sudan.
The organizing committee thanked the sponsors for their great support in
helping put together such an informative and inspirational event. Kevork
Kazanjian, Armen Karo Student Association chairman spoke on behalf of the
committee; he explained that the Canadian youth’s moral responsibility is to
remember the victims of all the Genocides and to also fight to keep their
memories alive and unforgotten. `We are together here tonight because we
want to fight denial, and, at the same time, create awareness in our
Canadian universities. We, as Genocide survivors have a responsibility to
find ways to prevent this tragedy from re-occurring, namely by organizing
lectures of such importance.’
The first panelist was Mr Eloge Butera, a survivor of the 1994 Genocide
against the Tutsis in Rwanda and a human rights activist. Eloge shared his
tragic stories with the audience explaining how his family was murdered and
the way he escaped from the Genocide and arrived to Montreal.
The second panelist was Mrs Liselotte Ivry, a Holocaust survivor. She was
born in 1925 in Listany, Czechoslovakia. Liselotte and her mother worked as
nurses. In September 1943 Liselotte’s mother and brother were both murdered.
>From July 1944 to February 1945, Liselotte worked in three different camps
outside of Hamburg. She was only 19 years old when she lost her entire
family. Relying solely on her memory, she remembered an uncle’s address in
Montreal and wrote to him, this is how she made it to Canada.
The third and final panelist was Dr. Rita Soulahian Kuyumjian, a second
generation Armenian Genocide survivor. Dr Kuyumjian presented her latest
book which is a translation of Aram Andonian’s book . Dr Kuyumjian told the
crowd the story about the evening of April 24th 1915 when Andonian saw the
suffering of hundreds of Armenian writers, poets, artists and leaders.
After the three touching stories the first lecturer took the floor. Yair
Auron, a professor in the field of genocide and contemporary Judaism at the
Open University of Israel and the Kibbutzim College of Education in
Jerusalem, gave a lecture entitled: "Armenians, Jews and Israelis –
Remembering and Denial".
Professor Auron focused on the importance of Israel and USA recognizing the
the first Genocide of the 20th century, the Armenian Genocide. He stated
that it is a moral responsibility for the Jews and Israelis to recognize it.
Professor Yair criticized the Israeli government for condemning any acts of
denial of the holocaust and fighting against it but at the same time denying
the Armenian Genocide. According to him, the reason behind this is to
maintain the focus on the Holocaust and to protect the military & economic
ties with Turkey. As a humanitarian and a Jew, Professor Auron promised to
never remain silent and to keep fighting for the recognition of the Armenian
Genocide.
The final lecturer of the evening was Professor Frank Chalk from Concordia
University. He is a History professor and the Director of the Montreal
Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies at Concordia University
(MIGS). Frank Chalk’s lecture was entitled: "Mobilizing the Will to
Intervene: Leadership to Prevent Future Genocides".
Professor Chalk presented a project that he accomplished in collaboration
with General Roméo Dallaire. The project disserts ways to prevent Genocide
from recurring in the future. In his opinion, countries such as Canada and
the United States should have a proactive governmental program that takes
action prior to the triggering of a Genocide. Professor Chalk confessed that
those countries will only react when it is in their National interest. For
this reason, he explained the parallel between terrorists and Genocide
perpetrators. He explained: `Genocide is a consequence of the immergence of
thousands of diseases; any one of them can reach our country and affect our
national interest’. Professor Frank ended his lecture by urging all Youth
organizations in North America to be involved in such projects and to
sponsor his research in order for us to reach our aim: A world free of any
future Genocides.
The evening concluded with a brief question and answer period. The
three genocide
survivors and two lecturers inspired a full audience to help create change;
their message to us: `never give up.’
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For photos please visit:
y/4-genocide-awareness-day-at-concordia
http://www.armenkaro.org/
http://www.armenkaro.org/en/gallery/categor