Paris Armenians hold large-scale rally in commemoration of Genocide 95th anniversary

April 24, 2010 - 23:18 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Paris Armenians held a large-scale rally in commemoration of Genocide 95th anniversary.

As rally participant Petros Armandayan told PanARMENIAN.Net reporter, over 7000 representatives of Armenian community in France participated in a rally.

World famous chansonnier Charles Aznavour and his impresario Levon Sayan were also present.

The head of ARF Dashnaktsutyun west-european bureau Murad Papazyan, representatives of Communist and French president’s parties, California Courier editor newspaper Harout Sasounian delivered speeches at the Turkish Consulate.

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.