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AREA ARMENIANS MARK ANNIVERSARY OF GENOCIDE
by Johanna Weidner
The Guelph Mercury (Ontario, Canada)
April 23, 2012 Monday
April 24 needs to be marked not only by Armenians but by all people
who want to stand up against genocide in the past and future.
On that day in 1915, Ottoman Turkish forces began the roundup and
mass killings of Armenians. An estimated 1.5 million Armenians died
in what is now widely viewed as the first genocide of the 20th century.
"It happened to everyone and it has the potential to happen to anyone,"
said J.P. Assadourian, chair of the Armenian National Committee's
southwestern Ontario chapter.
The local chapter commemorated the 97th anniversary of the genocide
on Sunday at the Armenian Community Centre in Cambridge. A wreath in
honour of the hundreds of thousands who died.
April 24 is marked by Armenian communities around the world with
ceremonies and peaceful demonstrations in a decades-long fight to
get the Turkish government to acknowledge the killings.
"We will never stop," Assadourian said.
He said that dark chapter in history must be talked about openly for
both the sake of Armenians and also the Turkish people, who have the
right to know about the nation's past.
"They have been denied the facts of what has happened in their
history," Assadourian said.
Holding nations accountable for genocide is also a warning to others
that the systematic extermination of a people will not be overlooked
or forgotten, he said.
The Turkish government does not recognize the First World War-era
genocide, saying the figure is inflated and the deaths occurred in
the civil unrest during the Ottoman Empire's collapse.
"The Armenian nation will never forget the genocide and the Turkish
nation is reluctant to admit it happened," said keynote speaker Hayg
Oshagan, a professor in the communication department at Wayne State
University in Michigan.
But he said it's essential for the neighbouring nations to come to
an agreement about that time, regardless of how difficult it may be
to make reparations for the immeasurable loss.
"Nations are really reluctant to admit this sort of thing about their
past," Oshagan said.
Despite the denials by the Turkish government, he said, the truth is
apparent through the eyewitness reports, photographs and records of
assets seized from Armenians as they were forced out of Turkey and
marched into the desert.
"It's uncontested the genocide occurred," Oshagan said.
"There's tons of documentation on what has happened."
Canada's Parliament in 2004 backed a resolution condemning the actions
of the Ottoman Turkish forces, calling it unequivocally a genocide
and crime against humanity. The move was denounced by Turkey, accusing
Canadian legislators for blindly following those with marginal views.
Oshagan believes the Turks will eventually have to come to terms
with what happened. Until then, he said the fight will continue
among Armenians scattered around the globe even as almost 100 years
have passed.
"It's our duty to our ancestors and our nation."
by Johanna Weidner
The Guelph Mercury (Ontario, Canada)
April 23, 2012 Monday
April 24 needs to be marked not only by Armenians but by all people
who want to stand up against genocide in the past and future.
On that day in 1915, Ottoman Turkish forces began the roundup and
mass killings of Armenians. An estimated 1.5 million Armenians died
in what is now widely viewed as the first genocide of the 20th century.
"It happened to everyone and it has the potential to happen to anyone,"
said J.P. Assadourian, chair of the Armenian National Committee's
southwestern Ontario chapter.
The local chapter commemorated the 97th anniversary of the genocide
on Sunday at the Armenian Community Centre in Cambridge. A wreath in
honour of the hundreds of thousands who died.
April 24 is marked by Armenian communities around the world with
ceremonies and peaceful demonstrations in a decades-long fight to
get the Turkish government to acknowledge the killings.
"We will never stop," Assadourian said.
He said that dark chapter in history must be talked about openly for
both the sake of Armenians and also the Turkish people, who have the
right to know about the nation's past.
"They have been denied the facts of what has happened in their
history," Assadourian said.
Holding nations accountable for genocide is also a warning to others
that the systematic extermination of a people will not be overlooked
or forgotten, he said.
The Turkish government does not recognize the First World War-era
genocide, saying the figure is inflated and the deaths occurred in
the civil unrest during the Ottoman Empire's collapse.
"The Armenian nation will never forget the genocide and the Turkish
nation is reluctant to admit it happened," said keynote speaker Hayg
Oshagan, a professor in the communication department at Wayne State
University in Michigan.
But he said it's essential for the neighbouring nations to come to
an agreement about that time, regardless of how difficult it may be
to make reparations for the immeasurable loss.
"Nations are really reluctant to admit this sort of thing about their
past," Oshagan said.
Despite the denials by the Turkish government, he said, the truth is
apparent through the eyewitness reports, photographs and records of
assets seized from Armenians as they were forced out of Turkey and
marched into the desert.
"It's uncontested the genocide occurred," Oshagan said.
"There's tons of documentation on what has happened."
Canada's Parliament in 2004 backed a resolution condemning the actions
of the Ottoman Turkish forces, calling it unequivocally a genocide
and crime against humanity. The move was denounced by Turkey, accusing
Canadian legislators for blindly following those with marginal views.
Oshagan believes the Turks will eventually have to come to terms
with what happened. Until then, he said the fight will continue
among Armenians scattered around the globe even as almost 100 years
have passed.
"It's our duty to our ancestors and our nation."