NEW YORK, April 23, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- New York Governor David A. Paterson issued a Proclamation for the Empire State to join in with the entire community to commemorate the 93rd anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. In the proclamation, the Governor states, "Whereas, it is fitting that all New Yorkers recognize the hardships the Armenians faced, for the purpose of preventing such as the Armenian Genocide of 1915-23 from recurring and to appreciate the United States role as a refuge for all oppressed people."
The public is welcome to participate in the 93rd Anniversary Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide to be held in Times Square (43rd & Broadway) on Sunday, April 27 from 2-4 PM. Organized by the Knights & Daughters of Vartan, an Armenian-American fraternal organization, the Commemoration theme is "We Cannot Forget, We Will Not Forget." Armenian-Americans and their supporters will gather to pay tribute to the 1.5 million Armenians who were annihilated by the Young Turk Government of the Ottoman Empire. The Commemoration will also celebrate the survival of the Armenian people, their rich heritage and their contributions. Dennis R. Papazian, PhD, Founding Director of the Armenian Research Center of the University of Michigan and Mary A. Papazian, PhD, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at Lehman College, C.U.N.Y, will preside over the ceremonies.
Commemoration participants will include Armenian Genocide survivors and their families, elected officials, and humanitarian, cultural, religious, educational and community leaders. Distinguished speakers include U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ); U.S. Representative Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues; Carla Garapedian, director of the award-winning documentary Screamers, which explores the history of reoccurrence and denial of genocides in the 20th and 21st centuries; Attorney Mark J. Garagos, who helped lead groundbreaking Federal Class Action Lawsuits against New York Life and other insurance companies for insurance polices issued to Armenians living in Turkey prior to the Armenian Genocide; Alex Hinton, PhD, Director of the Study of Genocide and Human Rights at Rutgers University and Vice President of the International Association of Genocide Scholars; and Dr. Daniel Jonah Goldhagen, author of Hitler's Willing Executioners. In 2009, Goldhagen will host the PBS documentary Worse Than War, based on his forthcoming book exploring the general phenomenon of genocide throughout the world.
Armenian Genocide Experts Sam Azadian and Dr. Dennis R. Papazian are available for media interviews via phone and in-person. Armenian Genocide Survivors are also available (with translators) to discuss their eyewitness accounts as refugees from the Armenian Genocide. Their painful accounts of the horrendous horrors and mass destruction they witnessed and lived through are critical contributions to world history.
Free round-trip bus transportation will be available from all Armenian New York and New Jersey churches, Baruyr's (40th Street & Queens Boulevard) and the Hovnanian School, New Milford, New Jersey. For information about the Commemoration and bus transportation contact: Dr. Dennis Papazian-PH: (201) 505-1591.
The Knights of Vartan logo is available at http://www.primenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=3420