ARMENIAN COMMUNITY, CITY TO COMMEMORATE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
On the 97th anniversary of the beginning of what became known as the Armenian Genocide, the local Armenian community will join with Pasadena officials to mark the occasion with ceremonies at city hall.
Tuesday, April 24, from 10 to 11:30 a.m., residents from area Armenian organizations, churches and schools will gather to remember the systematic killing of as many as 1.5 million Armenians from 1915 through 1923 in what was then the Ottoman Empire. The United States Marine Corps will perform the official salute and about 40 elected public leaders and representatives are expected to attend. The city hall commemoration is an annual event.
“It’s a time of remembrance of all the lives lost,” said Armenian Community Coalition Chairman Khatchik Chris Chahinian, “and it’s a call for the official recognition of this terrible suffering.”
While 43 American states, including California, and more than 20 countries officially recognize the deaths as an act of genocide, the United States has not officially done so. The Republic of Turkey, the successor government to the Ottoman Empire, does not accept the term “genocide” in reference to the Armenian deaths.
Pasadena City Hall is located at 100 N. Garfield. For more information about this year’s event call 626-399-1799 or visit the Armenian Community Coalition of Pasadena at www.acc-us.org.