“WE DEMAND REPARATIONS FOR THE HUMAN AND MATERIAL LOSSES RESULTING FROM THE ADANA MASSACRES”

“WE DEMAND REPARATIONS FOR THE HUMAN AND MATERIAL LOSSES RESULTING FROM THE ADANA MASSACRES”
Said His Holiness Aram I at the Opening of the Commemorative Symposium

On Wednesday 28 October in the evening the symposium to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Adana Massacres began, with the participation of community and political leaders, clergy, historians, researchers, international law experts and the descendents of the victims, who came from different parts of the world.

The symposium began with a Requiem Service in memory of the martyrs, presided over by His Holiness Aram I and celebrated by the members of the Brotherhood of the Catholicosate. Following the Service the participants were led to the Cilicia Museum for the opening of an exhibition of 60 photographs from the archives of the Catholicosate depicting scenes of the massacres of Adana.

In his opening speech, Catholicos Aram I said that the current symposium will bridge the past, the present and the future. He continued: “As Armenians we should set aside our differences and unite in our just claims for reparation for the Adana Tragedy. Demand for justice is not constrained by time. We must ensure that the consequences of the genocides are recognised and remedied. In Adana we lost 30.000 lives, the massacres left us with widows, orphans, destroyed churches, homes, schools, farms, mills and everything else that touched the peoples’ livelihood. Hence, today on behalf of all Armenians we demand compensation from Turkey for those losses inflicted upon our people”.

After the exhibition, the participants took part in the erection of a Khatchkar (stone-cross) in the yard of the Catholicosate in memoriam of the victims.

The symposium in Antelias will continue until the end of the week.

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