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  • Bergen County Armenians commemorate massacre

    Bergen County Armenians commemorate massacre
    Sunday, May 1, 2011
    BY CHRIS HARRIS
    The Record
    STAFF WRITER

    Members of North Jersey's sizable Armenian community are
    expected to turn out in droves today for a ceremony in Times Square
    commemorating the 96th anniversary of the massacre of more than 1
    million Armenians in what is now Turkey during World War I.

    Scheduled to take place from 2 to 4 p.m., the free event will pay
    tribute to those slain during the first genocide of the 20th Century.

    Speakers will include civic, religious, humanitarian, educational and
    cultural leaders, as well as performing artists. Among those scheduled
    to address the crowd are New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez and New York Sen.
    Charles Schumer.

    "It's important to remember what happened 96 years ago because
    this is a major event for Armenians and mankind," said Hirant Gulian, a
    Cliffside Park resident and chairman of the Armenian Genocide
    Commemoration Committee, which organized today's event. "This
    was the first genocide of the 20th century. We have the responsibility
    to honor those that perished."

    Gulian said he expects a contingent of at least "a couple of thousand"
    Armenians from Bergen County will turn out. He estimates that there are
    more than 20,000 Armenian families living throughout Bergen County.

    The genocide was carried out by the Ottoman Empire. The Republic of
    Turkey, the successor state of the empire, has steadfastly denied the
    word "genocide" is an accurate description of the events. Armenians say
    their ancestors were rounded up and brutally forced into exile in what
    today is Syria. Many died along the way.

    Gulian believes marking the anniversary of the killing of Armenians is
    important not just for Armenians, but "other communities as well. We
    have a responsibility to show the new generation that genocide like this
    should not happen, but it continues ... in Darfur, the Sudan. We have a
    responsibility to remind the politicians and world leaders that they
    somehow must put an end to this genocide."

    Bert Ammerman of River Vale will not be attending today's
    ceremony, but agrees with Gulian that it is important to keep the memory
    of what happened in 1915 alive.

    "It should be an annual attempt to keep to the forefront that innocent
    people throughout the world are consistently facing the challenges of
    genocide," said Ammerman, who lost his brother, Tom, in the bombing of
    Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.

    "History repeats itself; look at Darfur, Iraq, and what is happening now
    in Libya," Ammerman continued. "If you don't keep it at the
    forefront, people tend to forget quickly. If they are not consistently
    reminded of it, they will think it doesn't exist anymore. So,
    doing this, at least on an annual basis, reenergizes people to do
    something, if only for a short period of time."

    E-mail: [email protected]

    Members of North Jersey's sizable Armenian community are
    expected to turn out in droves today for a ceremony in Times Square
    commemorating the 96th anniversary of the massacre of more than 1
    million Armenians in what is now Turkey during World War I.

    Scheduled to take place from 2 to 4 p.m., the free event will pay
    tribute to those slain during the first genocide of the 20th Century.

    Speakers will include civic, religious, humanitarian, educational and
    cultural leaders, as well as performing artists. Among those scheduled
    to address the crowd are New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez and New York Sen.
    Charles Schumer.

    "It's important to remember what happened 96 years ago because
    this is a major event for Armenians and mankind," said Hirant Gulian, a
    Cliffside Park resident and chairman of the Armenian Genocide
    Commemoration Committee, which organized today's event. "This
    was the first genocide of the 20th century. We have the responsibility
    to honor those that perished."

    Gulian said he expects a contingent of at least "a couple of thousand"
    Armenians from Bergen County will turn out. He estimates that there are
    more than 20,000 Armenian families living throughout Bergen County.

    The genocide was carried out by the Ottoman Empire. The Republic of
    Turkey, the successor state of the empire, has steadfastly denied the
    word "genocide" is an accurate description of the events. Armenians say
    their ancestors were rounded up and brutally forced into exile in what
    today is Syria. Many died along the way.

    Gulian believes marking the anniversary of the killing of Armenians is
    important not just for Armenians, but "other communities as well. We
    have a responsibility to show the new generation that genocide like this
    should not happen, but it continues ... in Darfur, the Sudan. We have a
    responsibility to remind the politicians and world leaders that they
    somehow must put an end to this genocide."

    Bert Ammerman of River Vale will not be attending today's
    ceremony, but agrees with Gulian that it is important to keep the memory
    of what happened in 1915 alive.

    "It should be an annual attempt to keep to the forefront that innocent
    people throughout the world are consistently facing the challenges of
    genocide," said Ammerman, who lost his brother, Tom, in the bombing of
    Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.

    "History repeats itself; look at Darfur, Iraq, and what is happening now
    in Libya," Ammerman continued. "If you don't keep it at the
    forefront, people tend to forget quickly. If they are not consistently
    reminded of it, they will think it doesn't exist anymore. So,
    doing this, at least on an annual basis, reenergizes people to do
    something, if only for a short period of time."

    E-mail: [email protected]


    Click here for more news from: Cliffside Park, River Vale,




    From: A. Papazian
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