The Wales Genocide Memorial is a monument in the garden of the Temple of Peace in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, dedicated to the victims of the

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

that took place in

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

carried out by the Turkish government against the

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

population from 1915 to 1922.

Unveiling

The memorial was erected and unveiled on November 2, 2007, at an initiative of Wales-Armenian Society. The opening of the monument was consecrated in a service conducted by Bishop Nathan Hovhannisian, Primate of the

Armenian Apostolic Church , native_name_lang = hy , icon = Armenian Apostolic Church logo.svg , icon_width = 100px , icon_alt = , image = Էջմիածնի_Մայր_Տաճար.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , a ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

. The ceremony was attended by Lord

Dafydd Elis-Thomas Dafydd Elis-Thomas, Baron Elis-Thomas (born 18 October 1946) is a Welsh politician who served as the Leader of Plaid Cymru from 1984 to 1991 and represented the Dwyfor Meirionnydd constituency in the Senedd from 1999 to 2021. Born in Carmar ...

Presiding Officer of the National Assembly of Wales, David Yeoman, the Assistant Bishop of

Llandaff Llandaff (; cy, Llandaf ; from 'church' and '' Taf'') is a district, community and coterminous electoral ward in the north of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It was incorporated into the city in 1922. It is the seat of the Bishop of Llandaff, whose ...

, and Vahe Gabrielyan, Armenian Ambassador to the UK. Over 300 people attended the opening ceremony. Members of the Turkish community protested, saying the genocide never happened.

Desecration

In the early hours of January 27, 2008 the ornate Armenian Cross was smashed by a hammer, which was found at the scene.Religiousintelligence.co.uk Armenian monument desecrated
Eilian Williams of Wales Armenia Solidarity condemned the attack, which happened just hours before a memorial service could take place in remembrance of

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

and

Hrant Dink Hrant Dink ( hy, Հրանդ Տինք; Western ; 15 September 1954 – 19 January 2007) was a Turkish-Armenian intellectual, editor-in-chief of ''Agos'', journalist and columnist. As editor-in-chief of the bilingual Turkish-Armenian newspa ...

. Eilian Williams has said "We shall repair the cross again and again, no matter how often it is desecrated. We also challenge the UK government and the Turkish Embassy to condemn this racist attack."

External links

Armenia-Wales.org

Armenian Genocide Monument in Wales Smashed on UK's Holocaust Memorial Day

References

{{Commons category, Armenian Genocide memorial (Cardiff) 2007 sculptures Armenian genocide denial Armenian genocide memorials Buildings and structures in Cardiff Monuments and memorials in Cardiff Vandalized works of art in the United Kingdom

Unveiling

Desecration

See also

External links

References