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Armenians Say Never Forget On 99th Anniversary Of Genocide

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  • Armenians Say Never Forget On 99th Anniversary Of Genocide

    ARMENIANS SAY NEVER FORGET ON 99TH ANNIVERSARY OF GENOCIDE

    Inland Valley Daily Bulletin (Ontario, CA)
    April 25, 2014 Friday

    by Lauren Gold

    MONTEBELLO >> With a message of never forget, thousands of Armenians
    and others came out from Hollywood to Montebello to Pasadena Thursday
    to commemorate the 99th anniversary of the Armenian genocide.

    The genocide is commemorated April 24 because that was the day in
    1915 that about 300 Armenian leaders in Turkey were rounded up and
    deported or killed, and nearly 5,000 poor Armenians were killed in
    and around Istanbul.

    The Turkish government has questioned the number of deaths and denies
    it was a genocide.

    It s important we remember the genocide, said Los Angeles Mayor Eric
    Garcetti before about 1,500 people at the United Armenian Council
    of Los Angeles event at the Armenian Genocide Martyrs Monument at
    Bicknell Park in Montebello.

    There will be children who will never have known somebody who survived
    the genocide, Garcetti said. It will fall on our shoulders now to talk
    about that memory. We ll need to tell the young children growing up
    what happened.

    Another commemoration was held on the steps of Pasadena City Hall
    and in Hollywood thousands of protestors took part in a march, many
    carrying signs, flags and banners as they gathered at Hollywood and
    Hobart boulevards.

    The program in Pasadena sponsored by the Armenian Community Coalition
    featured musical tributes, poems and speeches by elected officials
    and community members.

    They massacred a million and a half of us, yet today we stand as over
    11 million worldwide, said Levon Keshishian, master of ceremonies
    for the Pasadena event.

    For 99 years we have proven we are a people that can survive this. By
    all difficulties we are a people who adapt to all situations. We are
    survivors of tragedies; from time immemorial our faith has guided us
    all the way, said Keshishian. Today is not a day of mourning, it is
    a day of remembrance and rededication to the cause, which is unsolved.

    Rep. Judy Chu, D-Pasadena, reminded attendees that there are still
    people in the world experiencing hardships and horrors similar to
    those of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, specifically in Syria.

    We have a duty to recognize the Armenian Genocide and the tragedy in
    Kasab (Syria) and remind the world that horror and destruction will
    not be ignored, Chu said, adding that she plans to continue to push
    for a congressional resolution recognizing the Armenian massacre as
    a genocide.

    Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Burbank speaking in Montebello called on Turkey
    to acknowledge the genocide.

    When we re gathered here next year for the 100th anniversary, I hope
    and pray Turkey will answer with words of repentance, Schiff said. He
    also called on the United States to recognize the genocide.

    I hope also the greatest nation on Earth lives up to its ideals and
    recognize the Armenian genocide, Schiff said.

    Another event was held Wednesday night also at the Montebello monument.

    About 400 people were present for the speeches and musical
    performances.

    This is important, said Montebello Councilman Jack Hadjinian, who was
    the master of ceremony on Wednesday night for the Armenian National
    Committee of San Gabriel Valley-sponsored event.

    We celebrate our existence and we continue to demand justice, Hadjinian
    said. The U.S. needs to take a position to classify what happened in
    1915 as genocide, not just a tragic event.

    President Barack Obama in a statement issued Thursday said a full,
    frank and just acknowledgement of the facts is in all our interests.

    We recall the horror of what happened 99 years ago, when 1.5 million
    Armenians were massacred or marched to their deaths in the final
    days of the Ottoman Empire, and we grieve for the lives lost and the
    suffering endured by those men, women, and children, his statement
    read.

    We are joined in solemn commemoration by millions in the United States
    and across the world, he wrote. In so doing, we remind ourselves
    of our shared commitment to ensure that such dark chapters of human
    history are never again repeated.

    Commemoration of the Armenian genocide will continue at 6 p.m. Sunday
    with a ground-blessing ceremony at the site of the Pasadena City
    Council-approved Armenian Genocide Memorial in Memorial Park, 85
    East Holly Street. For information visit www.PASAGMC.org or call
    818-454-3603.

    City News Service contributed to the story

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