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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
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