Armenians of Sweden call to light candle in Armenian Genocide commemoration

April 19, 2010 - 15:56 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Armenian community of Sweden has initiated Light the Night campaign. Head of the Armenian Association of Sweden Vahagn Avedian said that the community encourages to "Light the Night" by lighting a candle through the night of April 23rd and into the morning of the 24th, in remembrance of 1.5 million victims of the Armenian Genocide.

“Through lighting a candle in the window, we will show that the victims’ memory will live forever and that we pursue justice and peace,” Avedyan stated.

The Armenian Genocide

The Armenian Genocide (1915-23) was the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I. It was characterized by massacres and deportations, involving forced marches under conditions designed to lead to the death of the deportees, with the total number of deaths reaching 1.5 million.

The majority of Armenian Diaspora communities were formed by the Genocide survivors.

Present-day Turkey denies the fact of the Armenian Genocide, justifying the atrocities as “deportation to secure Armenians”. Only a few Turkish intellectuals, including Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk and scholar Taner Akcam, speak openly about the necessity to recognize this crime against humanity.

The Armenian Genocide was recognized by Uruguay, Russia, France, Lithuania, Italy, 45 U.S. states, Greece, Cyprus, Lebanon, Argentina, Belgium, Austria, Wales, Switzerland, Canada, Poland, Venezuela, Chile, Bolivia, the Vatican, Luxembourg, Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands, Paraguay, Sweden, Venezuela, Slovakia, Syria, Vatican, as well as the European Parliament and the World Council of Churches.