60,000 people participate in Armenian Genocide memorial rally in Beirut

April 24, 2010 - 19:01 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - 60,000 people participated in a rally in Beirut to commemorate the 95th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, editor-in-chief of Beirut-based Aztag newspaper Shahan Kandaharian said.

“The three fundamental Armenian parties, members of the Lebanese parliament and politicians participated in the rally that started from the residence of Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia Aram I. The speakers stressed the necessity of worldwide recognition of the Armenian Genocide and condemnation of Turkey by the international community,” Mr. Kandaharian told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

He also informed that Beirut hosted some cultural events dedicated to this mournful date. Specifically, Armenian Genocide documentaries from German archives were screened.

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.