Nagorno-Karabakh holds events in memory of victims of Armenian Genocide

On April 23 and 24, residents of Nagorno-Karabakh paid tribute to memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire by torchlight marching and laying wreaths at the memorial in Stepanakert.

This morning, the memorial complex in Stepanakert was visited by students and schoolchildren, employees of all private and public institutions and enterprises, leaders of the republic, MPS and government officials, commanders of the Army of Defence.

"Every year on this day, the Armenians all over the world pay tribute to 1.5 million of innocent victims of the genocide of 1915. They once again campaign against violence, massacres and evil in the name of historical justice and prevention of new genocides," said Bako Saakyan, President of Nagorno-Karabakh, on the occasion of the Day of memory of the victims of Armenian Genocide.

In the evening of April 23, Stepanakert held a torchlight march and rally, which was attended by members of youth organizations, senior schoolchildren, students and officials.

The march and rally were organized by the youth wing of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) "Dashnaktsutyun" in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) and the Student Union "Aram Manukyan". Stepanakert was visited by representatives from all districts of the republic, except the Kashatagh District, since a torchlight march and rally were held in the same place, in Berdzor, the centre of the District.

The torchlight march started at 08:00 p.m. local time at the church of Saint Akop in Stepanakert, where Archbishop Pargev Martirosyan, the leader of the Artsakh Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, conducted the mourning service. After that, the column moved to the Stepanakert memorial complex, where the rally took place.

During the rally, its participants demanded that all countries should recognize the Armenian Genocide, Turkey should apologize to the people of Armenia, and Azerbaijan "should stop its aggressive actions against Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh."

At the crossroads named after Vazgen Sarkisyan, the participants of the rally burned flags of Turkey and Azerbaijan.

"Our action that we organize every year, urges people not to forget our history and the difficulties experienced by the Armenian people and continue to fight for their freedom. Besides, we appeal to the international community to prevent the recurrence of genocide not only against the Armenian people, but also against other nations in the world," Sevak Khachatryan has stated.

According to the information of the policemen, who provided security measures during the event, the march was attended by more than 6000 persons. No incidents or violence occurred during the march.