130,000 March in Los Angeles to Commemorate Armenian Genocide Centennial

LOS ANGELES — About 130,000 people gathered Friday afternoon to march on the Turkish Consulate in Los Angeles in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

Throngs joined Friday’s six-mile walk from the Little Armenia neighborhood to the Turkish Consulate, carrying flags and signs voicing their common and persistent call for the Turkish government to recognize the deaths of more than 1.5 million Armenians as genocide, many of the signs voiced forceful messages: “We Demand Justice” and “Turkey Must Pay.” The march was the largest in the history of American megapolis protest that was joined by Armenian and American politicians, federal, state and local government elected officials.

The march kicked off at Hollywood Boulevard and Western Avenue in Little Armenia where local elected officials dedicated the southeast corner as Armenian Genocide Memorial Square. The sign was opened by the initiator of the project LA City Council member Mitch O’Farrell and Consul General of RA in LA Sergey Sarkisov. bulk of the City Council and Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Burbank attended the dedication.

According to O’Farrell’s office, the marker will “show that the city of Los Angeles recognizes the history of the Armenian Genocide, as well as the impact the event had on the Armenian community.”

“One hundred years ago, the Ottoman Empire attempted to annihilate an entire race in the first genocide of the last century,” Schiff said. “When it was over, 1.5 million Armenian men, women and children lay dead and many thousands of others barely survived. Despite a brutal campaign of massacres, forced death marches, lootings and rape, the Young Turks failed to destroy the Armenian people as evidenced by the vibrant diaspora and Armenian nation.”

After the public opening ceremony, the protest march moved towards the Turkish Consulate in Los Angeles. American and Armenian politicians made speeches in front of the Turkish Consulate demanding international recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide.

 

130,000 March in Los Angeles to Commemorate Armenian Genocide Centennial