ArmInfo. Armenia is commemorating the victims of the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire.
The events on the occasion of the 108th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide kicked off in Yerevan's Republic Square with the traditional torchlight procession toward the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial to Armenian Genocide victims. The procession was organized by the Youth Wing of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Dashnaktsutyun (ARF-D).
Ishkhan Saghatelyan of the ARF-D Executive Council stated prior to the event that the Armenian people are now being forced into renouncing the Armenian Cause and its their past in order to deprive them of their own future.
"We are being divided into former ones, new, black, white residents of Armenia, locals, residents of Karabakh and of the Diaspora, in order to complete the monstrous programme of annihilating the Armenian people. We are being estranged from our roots, our church is being attacked, all this being done for the simple reason: Turkey's plans have never changed. And they are doing it with the hands of Nikol Pashinyan, who is sitting in this building," Mr Saghatelyan said.
Addressing the Artsakh Armenians he apologized for the fact that their destiny is in the hands of "Turkey- placed traitors."
"Motherland has not rejected Artsakh. We are power together. We are not only able, but we are also obliged to turn over this black page of our history. It is not the end yet. The principal battle is ahead. We are not going to retreat in our righteous struggle. We'll put political and personal interests aside and drive internal and external enemies out of our country," he said.
The participants burned the Turkish national flag and moved on. The procession was led by Armenia's spiritual leaders and scouts, carrying the national flags of the states that recognized the first genocide in the 20th century.
The Armenian Genocide was commemorated in Artsakh, which has been blockaded by Azerbaijan for over 130 days.
The Armenian Genocide has been recognized by many states and international organizations: the Council of Europe, European Parliament, United Nations Network on Racial Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, World Church Council, as well as by Uruguay, Austria, Argentina, Armenia (the Armenian SSR in 1964, 1988, 1990), Belgium, Bulgaria, Bolivia, Brazil, Vatican, Venezuela, Germany, Greece, Italy, Canada, Cyprus, Latvia, Lebanon, Lybia, Lithuania, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Syria, Slovakia, the U.S. (on April 24, 2021, President Joe Biden recognized the Armenian massacres in Ottoman Turkey as genocide), Czech Republic, Chile, Switzerland, Sweden. Turkey continues denying the fact.