Armenian Genocide Memorial Day: April 24
Armenian Genocide Memorial Day is a public holiday in Armenia.
Armenia remembers the Armenian Genocide in April 24, 1915. This is recalled by Armenians as the Great Calamity, and it was systematic and deliberate genocide from the Ottoman Empire towards Armenians during and after World War I, resulting in one and a half million deaths.
History of Armenian Genocide Memorial Day in Armenia
Armenia became part of the Ottoman Empire under the rule of Selim II from 1524 to 1574. As a minority of Christians in a Muslim Empire, Armenians were discriminated against and guaranteed limited freedoms. Great Britain, France, and Russia pressured the Ottoman government to improve the treatment of minorities. Even though there were some efforts to change the situation, laws were ineffective and Armenians remained as second-class citizens.
In November 1914, the Ottoman Empire entered World War I. The Ottoman Empire then tried to recover lost territories from the Russians, but they lost and were forced to return to Constantinople as losers. This defeat was then blamed on Armenians that supported the Russians. War Minister Enver Pasha, humiliated by the defeat, ordered all Armenian units in the Ottoman forces to be sent to an unarmed labor battalion. This was the beginning of the logistical preparation for the Armenian Genocide.
From 1915 to 1917, several Armenian cities were surrounded under false pretexts of rebellion. The population was killed and property was seized. Political propaganda showed Armenian intellectuals as a threat to the Empire and was used to justify the killing of 250 Armenian intellectual and community leaders on April 24, 1915. Under an approved law, the Tehcir Law, the Ottoman Empire legalized the confiscation of properties from Armenians.
Armenians were taken from their homes and forced to march for hundreds of miles without food or water into the Syrian town of Deir ez-Dor and the surrounding desert, later to be killed. Studies have unraveled a long list of concentration camps, and witnesses have recounted atrocities from the Ottoman armies against Armenians. It is the most studied genocide after the Holocaust.
Armenia’s Armenian Genocide Memorial Day Traditions, Customs and Activities
On this day Armenians all over the world recall the memories of the Armenian Genocide. They gather around the many memorials that have been erected across 25 countries to commemorate the event. Armenians still struggle to have the Armenian Genocide recognized internationally by Turkey, and this day is a day to put more political effort into its recognition.
In Yerevan, capital of Armenia, hundreds of thousands of people gather at the Tsitsernakaberd Genocide Memorial to lay flowers in memory of Armenians killed during the genocide. The 250 Armenian notables that were killed on April 24 and the hundreds of other intellectuals and community leaders killed during the event are considered martyrs by most Armenians.
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