“OUR PEOPLE SHOULD SPEAK UP CLEARLY FOR THEIR JUST CAUSE AGAINST TURKISH DENIAL”, SAID ARAM I
Armenian Church-Catholicosate of Cilicia
The 24th of April this year was the 95th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Armenians in Lebanon made a pilgrimage to Antelias and demanded that Turkey recognize the genocide.
The pilgrimage began on Friday 23 April in the morning, with the gathering in Antelias of all Armenian students in Lebanon. In the Memorial Chapel, the students lit candles in memory of the Martyrs. Then through different activities they paid tribute to the rich Armenian intellectual resources and cultural heritage, which, in 1915, the Ottoman Turks attempted to destroy when they removed the Armenians from their ancestral land.
In the same evening youth organizations met in Antelias. Through vespers, candle-lighting vigils and cultural activities, they renewed their commitment to the memory of the martyrs and the Armenian cause.
On Saturday, 24 April, in the morning, His Holiness Aram I presided over the liturgy for the one-and-a-half million Martyrs and preached the sermon. Bishop Kegham Khatcherian, Prelate of Lebanon, celebrated liturgy in front of the Memorial Chapel. At the end of the liturgy, the Ambassador of Armenia to Lebanon, representatives of all Armenian organizations, officials and the people laid wreaths and flowers in front of the Chapel.
The pilgrimage ended with a march organized by the Committee for the Commemoration of the 95th Anniversary of the genocide from Antelias to Bourj Hammoud. Thousands of marchers walked silently on the highway, which had been closed to traffic, waving Lebanese and Armenian flags and carrying banners demanding accountability from Turkey and the international community.
“IMPUNITY IS NOT LIMITED BY TIME”
Declared ARAM I from Antelias
Addressing the Armenian community on 24 April, His Holiness Aram I declared: “For the past 95 years Armenians have been demanding the recognition of their genocide and accountability from Turkey for its crimes against humanity. In the case of the Armenian genocide, which was the first genocide of the 20th Century, the international community has condoned impunity. In 2002, The International Criminal Court (ICC) was established in order to deter new genocides, bring to accountability perpetrators of crimes against humanity and establish permanent peace. However, because it was mandated to prosecute only those crimes that have taken place since 2002, it has, in fact, weakened its ability to prevent new genocides. Instead, it has encouraged political powers, driven by their geopolitical interests, to advise victims of genocides to forget the past and look into the future.”
His Holiness continued: “Survivors of victims of genocides and their offspring will continue to condemn impunity and demand justice from the international community.”
His Holiness then added: “We can achieve permanent justice only through reconciliation. Reconciliation means bringing together perpetrators and victims, asking for accountability and calling for remedy through reparation. These are both spiritual and political acts. Politically, International Human Rights Law should apply to victims of gross violations of Human Rights at all times. What could be a grosser violation than genocide? Spiritually, religious leaders should work together and challenge the conscience of the international community because such an act is at the heart of the moral and spiritual vocation of religions,” concluded Catholicos Aram I.
