Holland to host concert to mark 96th anniversary of Armenian Genocide

April 2, 2011 - 17:21 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - On April 19, Holland will host a concert to mark the 96th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

The commemorative concert will be held in the presence of Dziunik Aghajanian, the Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia to the Netherlands, at the initiative of the Federation of Armenian Organizations in The Netherlands (FAON).

Several Armenian musicians will lend their assistance to this concert. The program will consist of the works of Komitas, Babadjanian, Bach and others, FAON told PanARMENIAN.Net

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.