Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day ( ''Mets Yegherrni zoheri hishataki or'') or Armenian Genocide Memorial Day is a

public holiday A public holiday, national holiday, federal holiday, statutory holiday, bank holiday or legal holiday is a holiday generally established by law and is usually a non-working day during the year. Types Civic holiday A ''civic holiday'', also k ...

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

and

Nagorno-Karabakh Nagorno-Karabakh (, ; ) is a region in Azerbaijan, covering the southeastern stretch of the Lesser Caucasus mountain range. Part of the greater region of Karabakh, it spans the area between Lower Karabakh and Syunik Province, Syunik. Its ter ...

(before the

flight Flight or flying is the motion (physics), motion of an Physical object, object through an atmosphere, or through the vacuum of Outer space, space, without contacting any planetary surface. This can be achieved by generating aerodynamic lift ass ...

of its Armenian population) and is observed by the

Armenian diaspora The Armenian diaspora refers to the communities of Armenians outside Armenia and other locations where Armenians are considered an indigenous population. Since antiquity, Armenians have established communities in many regions throughout the world. ...

24 April Events Pre-1600 *1479 BC – Thutmose III ascends to the throne of Egypt, although power effectively shifts to Hatshepsut (according to the Low Chronology of the 18th dynasty). * 1183 BC – Traditional reckoning of the Fall of Troy ma ...

. It is held annually to commemorate the victims of the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily t ...

of 1915, a series of massacres and starvation of 1.5 million

Armenians Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...

by the

Ottomans Ottoman may refer to: * Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire * Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II" * Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...

. In

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...

, the capital of Armenia, hundreds of thousands of people walk to the Tsitsernakaberd Genocide Memorial to lay flowers at the

eternal flame An eternal flame is a flame, lamp or torch that burns for an indefinite time. Most eternal flames are ignited and tended intentionally, but some are natural phenomena caused by natural gas leaks, peat fires and coal seam fires, all of which ca ...

. This day is also called "Armenian Martyrs Day".

History

The date 24 April commemorates the

deportation of Armenian intellectuals on 24 April 1915 The deportation of Armenian intellectuals is conventionally held to mark the beginning of the Armenian genocide. Leaders of the Armenian community in the Ottoman capital of Constantinople (now Istanbul), and later other locations, were arrest ...

from Constantinople (present-day

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

). The first

commemoration Commemoration may refer to: *Commemoration (Anglicanism), a religious observance in Churches of the Anglican Communion *Commemoration (liturgy), insertion in one liturgy of portions of another *Memorialization *"Commemoration", a song by the 3rd a ...

, organised by a group of Armenian Genocide survivors, was held in

in 1919 at the local St. Trinity Armenian church. Many prominent figures in the Armenian community participated in the commemoration. Following its initial commemoration in 1919, the date became the annual day of remembrance for the Armenian Genocide. The

1965 Yerevan demonstrations The 1965 Yerevan demonstrations took place in Yerevan, Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic, Armenia on 24 April 1965, on the 50th anniversary of the Armenian genocide. It is said that this event constitutes the first step in the struggle for the r ...

saw 100,000 demonstrators come onto the streets of the

Soviet Armenia The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic (ArSSR), also known as Soviet Armenia, or simply Armenia, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union, located in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Soviet Armenia ...

n capital on 24 April to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the start of the Ottoman genocide. On 9 April 1975, the

US House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

passed Joint Resolution 148 designating 24 April as a "National Day of Remembrance of Man's Inhumanity to Man". The Resolution commemorated victims of genocide, especially those of Armenian ancestry who succumbed to the genocide perpetrated in 1915. The resolution however failed to pass in the

U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

due to President

Gerald R. Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was the 38th president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Ford assumed the p ...

’s strong opposition to what he saw as a threat to the country's strategic alliance with Turkey. In 1988, Soviet Armenia formally adopted 24 April as a public day of commemoration. In 1997 in the US, the

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature (the upper house being the California State Senate). The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Califor ...

declared 24 April as a "Day of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923, and for the victims of the

Sumgait Pogroms Sumqayit (or Sumgait; ; , ) is a city in Azerbaijan, located near the Caspian Sea, on the Absheron Peninsula, about away from the capital Baku. The city had a population of 427,000 at the beginning of 2024, making it the List of cities in Azerb ...

of 1988 and Baku Riots of 1990". In 2007,

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

passed National Law 26199, designating 24 April as "Day of Action for Tolerance and Respect Among Peoples", in which

Armenian Argentine Armenian Argentines (; ) are ethnic Armenians who live in Argentina. Estimates vary, but 165,000 people of Armenians, Armenian ancestry live in the country, forming one of the largest groups in the Armenian diaspora worldwide. In 2015, the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

unanimously passed Motion M-587, proposed by

Brad Butt Brad Butt (born May 10, 1967) is a Canadian politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for the Greater Toronto Area riding of Mississauga—Streetsville from 2011 to 2015. He served as a member of the Conservative party. He represent ...

, marking April to be Genocide Remembrance, Condemnation and Prevention Month, and designating 24 April as Armenian Genocide Memorial Day. In 2019,

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

marked its first national commemoration of the genocide, with French president

Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Jean-Michel Frédéric Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France and Co-Prince of Andorra since 2017. He was Ministry of Economy and Finance (France), Minister of Economics, Industr ...

declaring 24 April "a national day of remembrance of the Armenian genocide", fulfilling a campaign pledge. In 2021, US President

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

recognized the genocide on 24 April, fulfilling a campaign pledge. On 14 May 2024, the

Chamber of Representatives of Uruguay The Chamber of Representatives () is the lower house of the General Assembly of Uruguay (''Asamblea General de Uruguay''). The Chamber has 99 members, elected for a five-year term by proportional representation with at least two members per depa ...

unanimously approved a bill that declares 24 April of each year as "Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day".

References

External links

The Official Armenian Genocide Centennial Website
{{Authority control Genocide remembrance days Armenian genocide commemoration April observances Public holidays in Armenia

History

See also

References

External links