Armenian Genocide Commemoration at Armenian Heritage Park
On April 24, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) “Sardarabad” Gomideh and the Armenian Youth Federation (AYF) Boston “Nejdeh” Chapter will hold a protest at the Turkish Consulate in Boston to demand reparations for the Armenian Genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman-Turkish government in 1915-23. Although the main theme of the demonstration is the demand for recognition and reparations for the genocide, the protesters will also address the recent attacks by the Azerbaijani armed forces against the Nagorno-Karabagh Republic (NKR/Artsakh), which violated a 20-year-long ceasefire established in 1994. Turkey, which “stands with Azerbaijan to the end,” as stated by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, clearly supports the recent Azerbaijani aggression against Artsakh that began overnight on April 1-2.
Protesters will arrive in front of the Turkish Consulate—located at 31 St. James Ave., in Boston—by bus at 1:30 p.m., where they will deliver a letter stating their demands. The demonstration will last about an hour and will be followed by a procession from the consulate to the Armenian Heritage Park, where protesters will join the 101st commemoration of the Armenian Genocide starting at 3 p.m.
The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) “Sardarabad” Gomideh and the Armenian Youth Federation (AYF) Boston “Nejdeh” Chapter urge the local Armenian community to join them in this rally to demand justice for the 1.5 million lives lost at the hands of the Turkish government, and for the reparations owed to the Armenian people who were forcibly driven from their homeland.
Buses will depart from the St. Stephens and St. James churches in Watertown at 12:15 p.m. immediately following church services, and will return from Boston at the conclusion of the vigil at the Armenian Heritage Park.
Please, why is there a protest when nobody will be there?! What’s the point? Why are we just going through the motions – show up on 4-24 and protest, no matter what day of the week? It is vitally important to keep the pressure on these monsters, but if they don’t know there is any pressure on them…
I think your criticism is a bit off course. Over the years, there have been many demonstrations at Turkish consulates and embassies. It is rare that there is ever a sighting of a Turkish official. Essentially , it a protest at symbolic site. The hope is that by demonstrating at a Turkish site, the media will make-connection. Whether it is a business day or weekend…..whether the Taurus are working or not they are acutely aware of the activity. Their policy for years has been to “hunker down” and ride out the demonstrations. The “pressure” refer to comes from either media reporting, the motivation of Armenians to continue the efforts and the impact it has on third parties and the Turks themselves.
Recently, there has been instances of a scattering of counter demonstrator who are usually Azeris or even Turks. This is an acknowledgement of the effectiveness of this work.
Please also keep in mind is the Turkish Consulate on St. James is a starting point, where there will be a public presence. Also the demonstrator will then march a little over a mile to join the gathering at the Heritage Park.
I am not an official of this event( in case you might assume ) but I applaud the work of the AYF/ARFANC in this regard. God bless our young people as they continue this important work.