Armenian Genocide commemorated in Bulgarian cities

April 24, 2013 - 19:40 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - On April 24, Armenian ambassador to Bulgaria Arsen Shoyan, the embassy staff, former MP Katar Khachikian and representatives of the Armenian community laid flowers at the Genocide memorial in Sofia. Ambassador Shoyan delivered a speech, stressing the need for the international recognition of the Genocide and condemning the denial policy. A liturgy was further served in Sofia’s St. Mary's Church.

The Armenian Genocide commemoration events will also be held in Bulgaria’s other cities such as Varna, Plovdiv, Ruse, Burgas, Dobrich and Sliven.

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.