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  • Fresno: Armenian genocide to be recalled

    Fresno Bee (California)
    April 21, 2006 Friday
    FINAL EDITION

    Armenian genocide to be recalled;
    Slate of events planned to mark the 91st anniversary of killings.

    Vanessa Colón The Fresno Bee


    Valley events to commemorate the 91st anniversary of the Armenian
    genocide will begin Saturday with a flag-raising ceremony in Fresno.

    Armenian-Americans have been gearing up for Martyrs Day on Monday.
    The secular holiday recalls the killing of hundreds of Armenians who
    were arrested and taken from their homes in Constantinople before
    dawn on April 24, 1915.

    The day marks the beginning of the massive killings. Between 1915 and
    1923, 1.5 million Armenians were executed at the hands of the Ottoman
    Empire. The modern-day republic of Turkey evolved from the empire.

    Commemorations also will include church and cemetery services, vigils
    and a poetry reading.

    The Turkish government denies that genocide occurred. Turkish
    officials have repeatedly said that thousands of Turks as well as
    Armenians died during World War I.

    Armenian-American organizations hope to sway the U.S. government to
    recognize the Armenian genocide.

    "It's the truth. We want the truth recognized," said Hygo
    Ohannessian, chairwoman of the Armenian National Committee of Central
    California. Many Armenians perished after they were forced to march
    from northeast Turkey toward the deserts of Syria.

    Ohannessian said she's frustrated that the U.S. government has not
    recognized the genocide while European countries such as France and
    Russia have. Turkey is a U.S. ally and its geographic location in the
    Middle East plays a role in why the U.S. government won't call the
    killings a genocide, Ohannessian said.

    "They [U.S. government] are just playing politics. It's not in their
    interest," she said.

    Varoujan Der Simonian, executive director of the Armenian Technology
    Group Inc., said, "The key is for the Turkish government to recognize
    it."

    Der Simonian sees a glimmer of hope because he said there's a trend
    among Turkish scholars, especially those outside of Turkey, to call
    the killings a genocide. "We are going in the right direction," he
    said.

    Earlier this week, a lecture and performance were given in Fresno on
    Arshile Gorky, an Armenian-American artist who came to the United
    States to escape the Armenian genocide.

    Der Simonian said of the genocide: "It's time to speak out about the
    past so we can avoid future atrocities which is [already] happening
    now in Africa."

    The reporter can be reached at [email protected] or (559)
    441-6313.

    INFOBOX

    If you go

    Highlights of Armenian Martyrs Day and Armenian genocide
    commemorations

    Saturday

    Flag-raising ceremony, Fresno City Hall, 10 a.m.

    Sunday

    Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church requiem service, 2226 Ventura
    Ave., 11:15 a.m.

    Service honoring Armenian hero at Masis Ararat cemetery on Hughes and
    Belmont avenues, 1 p.m.

    Poetry reading, Fresno Art Museum, 2233 N. First St., 3 p.m.

    Film and candlelight vigil, California State University, Fresno,
    McLane Hall, Room 121, 7:30 p.m.

    Monday

    Armenian Martyrs Day Commemoration, St. Paul Armenian Church, 3767 N.
    First St., 7 p.m.

    May 13

    Genocide seminar, Armenian Community Center, 2348 Ventura Ave., 9:30
    a.m.

    Details: www.armenianmuseumfresno.org

    --Boundary_(ID_9OSlO uocug4IVSyUokitlA)--
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