ArmInfo.On April 24, a Commemoration ceremony dedicated to the 108th year of the Armenian Genocide was held at the Embassy of Armenia in the USA, reads a posts of the embassy's Facebook account.
The event was attended by representatives of the US State Department, Congress, the USAID, other state administration bodies, as well as the diplomatic corps, international organizations, scientific circles and the Armenian community.
The event began with prayer for the holy martyrs of the Armenian Genocide in front of the cross stone at the Embassy's garden, delivered by the Archbishop Vicken Aikazian, Vice-moderator of the World Council of Churches, and Fr. Hovsep Karapetyan, pastor of the St. Mary Armenian Apostolic Church of Washington, DC. The prayer was followed by the flower laying ceremony.
During the ceremony, H.E. Lilit Makunts, Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia to the USA, David Mandel-Anthony, Deputy to the Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice, U.S. Department of State and Dr. Alexander Sokolowski, Deputy Assistant Administrator, Bureau for Europe and Eurasia, USAID delivered their remarks.
The keynote speakers of the day were Dr. Khatchig Mouradian, Columbia University professor Khachik Muradyan Professor at Columbia University and Elisa von Joeden-Forgey, Co-Founder and Co-President of the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention. The speakers touched upon the history of Armenian Genocide, the support provided by the USA to the Genocide survivors, as well as the crime of genocide, the necessary steps to prevent it, and the threats of imminent genocides today.