The Armenian National Committee of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) on Sunday, April 23 staged a torchlight procession in memory of the 1.5 million victims of the Armenian Genocide.

The participants started off from Surb Hakob church in the Karabakh capital city of Stepanakert and headed to the Armenian Genocide memorial, Artsakhpress reports.

Halfway through the rally, those marching on the 102nd anniversary of the first genocide of the 20th century burnt a Turkish flag to protest Ankara's denialist policy.

President Bako Sahakyan, meanwhile, issued a statement on Monday, stating that oblivion and indifference is a crime in itself and can lead to new atrocities in the future.

"This simple truth has been proved many times in the 20th and 21st centuries and we are grateful to all those people and states that were there for our nation during those days of ordeal, those who go on supporting us today for the restoration of justice in our struggle," Sahakyan said.