Thousands in Ottawa Commemorate the Armenian Genocide, Protest Turkish Denial

OTTAWA, Canada—Thousands of Canadians from across the country gathered in Ottawa on April 24 to commemorate the 102nd anniversary of the Armenian Genocide and demonstrate against the Government of Turkey’s ongoing denial of the crime, the Armenian National Committee of Canada (ANCC) reported.

Thousands of Canadians from across the country gathered in Ottawa on April 24 to commemorate the 102nd anniversary of the Armenian Genocide and demonstrate against the Government of Turkey’s ongoing denial of the crime (Photo: Ishkhan Ghazarian/Horizon Weekly)

The demonstrators first gathered at the steps of Parliament Hill, where they thanked the Canadian government for its ongoing recognition of the facts of 1915, and called upon the government to exert pressure on its NATO ally, Turkey, to come to terms with its past and to put an end to its ongoing policy of Genocide denial.

Following the official ceremony on Parliament Hill, the demonstrators ceremoniously marched via Rideau St. to the Embassy of Turkey where they staged a peaceful demonstration against Turkey’s ongoing denial policies and human rights violations, demanding justice for the 1.5 million victims of the Armenian Genocide.

“One hundred and two years have passed since the start of the Armenian Genocide, the first genocide of the 20th century. Through the efforts of the Turkish government, the crime has gone unpunished. The families of victims have not been compensated and virtually all Armenian material, cultural, and religious wealth, and all remnants of the flourishing indigenous Armenian civilization of thousands of years remains confiscated or ruined in Turkey,” read a part of the ANCC’s statement.

Every year on April 24, millions of Armenians and non-Armenians from around the world stand in unison to demand their rights and to obtain condemnation of the crimes that were perpetrated against them by the Ottoman Turkish government. Despite Turkey’s efforts to obstruct progress toward a truthful and just international resolution of this crime, numerous countries and international organizations, including Canada have recognized the events of 1915 as nothing but a genocide.

“A century has passed but activists will gather once again to reiterate their commitment to this humanitarian cause and to continue their struggle until justice is fully served,” concluded the statement.

The ANCC is the largest and the most influential Canadian-Armenian grassroots human rights organization. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout Canada and affiliated organizations around the world, the ANCC actively advances the concerns of the Canadian-Armenian community on a broad range of issues and works to eliminate abuses of human rights throughout Canada and the world.

Guest Contributor

Guest Contributor

Guest contributions to the Armenian Weekly are informative articles or press releases written and submitted by members of the community.

1 Comment

  1. I cakish govt is dening the Armenian genocide I saw the movie the promise amazing movie but so sad that the evil slauger of thee decent people qould be drnied I’m pissed I want justice I’m an American and want to post this atrocity wake everyone up to this crap i need tp protest and thank you Canada fors stepping up god bless youi believe the Turkish govt needs to ackwoledge what hey did the movie promise needs to win an academy award for exposing the Armenian genocide

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