Hundreds of people gathered in Little Armenia Monday for a rally to commemorate the 108th anniversary of the Armenian genocide.
The “Armenian Genocide Commemerative Rally for Justice” took place at the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Western Avenue which run directly through the Little Armenia section of Los Angeles. It was organized by the Unified Young Armenians in collaboration with the USC and UCLA Armenian Student Assemblies.
April 24 marks Armenian Genocide Rememberance Day — a public holiday that annually commemorates the victims of the 1915 genocide. During World War I, the Armenian people were arrested and targeted by the Ottoman Empire, a systematic attack that resulted in the massacre and starvation of over 1.5 million people. To this day, the Turkish government refuses to acknowledge the events as genocide.
Attendees of the rally saw it as a time to be with their families and acknowledge the devastation committed against their people. For others, like demonstrator Anna Darmenchyan, the event hit closer to home.
“My great-grandparents came from Zeytun, Turkey,” Darmenchyan said. “They survived, some of them lost their families, some of them didn’t.”
She choked up reflecting on all those who had gathered for the rally.
“Together we bring recognition — we don’t give up,” she said.
Teenage sisters Elizabeth and Natalie Bislamyan said they felt proud to see other young people at the protest besides themselves.
“I know a lot of the older generations, they don’t make it to see all their grandkids and kids helping their country still,” Elizabeth Bislamyan said.
Natalie Bislamyan said she wasn’t just there to remember events past, but rather, to shed light on violence that is still being perpetuated against Armenians.
“[We’re] not fighting for the recognition of the Armenian genocide, but for our survival,” Bislamyan said.
Since December 2022, the Republic of Azerbaijan has blockaded the Lachin Corridor roadway preventing Artsakh from receiving outside access to food, medicine and basic goods by Armenia.
Bislamyan wasn’t alone in her frustration over Azerbaijan’s crimes — individuals at the rally also held up signs reading “open the roads” and “stop the blockade.”
Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Burbank, who represents one of the largest Armenian American populations in the country, spoke in solidarity with the Armenian people at the rally. He called for sanctioning Azerbaijan for its continued aggression against Artsakh and Armenia as well as the recognition of Artsakh as an independent state.
Rep. Schiff has been an outspoken advocate for the Armenian people for many years and led the push in Congress for the United States to formally recognize the Armenian genocide. His advocacy was successful when the Biden administration finally did so in 2021.
Shushan Krapetian, director of the USC Dornsife Institute of Armenian Studies, said April 24, 1915, was a significant day because of the large number of Armenian intellectuals and thought leaders killed.
“[It’s a] day to warn the world that the genocide isn’t over,” Krapetian said. “The narratives of genocide have been recycled by both Azerbaijan and Turkish Republics.”
For Krapetian, it’s imperative that the people of the U.S. pay attention to what is happening across the ocean, especially with the large Armenian population in the U.S.
The USC Dornsife Institute of Armenian Studies is doing its part to help these efforts with a project titled “California History through the Armenian Experience.” According to Krapetian, the project, funded by the California State Library, aims to capture the deep culture and history of the Armenian-American people by conducting interviews across the state.