Armenian Genocide memorial to be unveiled in Paris suburb

September 21, 2013 - 15:56 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - The French Roquebrune-sur-Argens commune, Var department will host the unveiling ceremony of a memorial for Armenian Genocide victims authored by architect Antranik Zakarian.

The September 21 ceremony will be opened with the music by Jean Marc DerMesropian and Charles Aznavour, with sisters Fabienne and Laurence Chanoyan to perform Komitas songs.

To attend the event are Roquebrune-sur-Argens Mayor Luc Jousse; members of the French National Assembly Valérie Boyer, Henri Jibrayel, Alaine Moyn-Bressand, Francois Rochebloine, Guy Tessier; representative of the Eastern Var Armenian Union Jacky Lequeux; representatives of the Armenian embassy in France, Nouvelles d`Arménie said.

Memorials to Genocide victims have already been unveiled in Paris, Lion and Marseilles.

Related links:

http://armenews.com

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.