95th anniversary of Armenian Genocide to be marked on Kharkiv

April 20, 2010 - 10:45 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Armenian community of Kharkiv will hold a number of events dedicated to the 95th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide from April 23 to 26.

On April 24 morning, people will be laying flowers to the memorial plate. Afterwards, a service will be held in Surb Harutyun Church and flowers will be laid at the khachkar in the churchyard.

The events are organized by the Armenian Consulate in Kharkiv and Sumy regions, the Armenian Apostolic Church and Armenian NGOs, Analitika.at.ua reported.

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.