Hundreds Mark Armenian Genocide Anniversary
Video by Andrea Martinez and Bronte Lawson
The Unified Young Armenians staged a protest and march Wednesday, marking the 98th anniversary of the Armenian genocide.
The march started at the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Hobart Avenue and concluded with a closing ceremony at the interesections of Hobart Avenue and Sunset Boulevard.
Politicians, activists, and genocide survivors were among those who participated in the annual march.
Organizers chose April 24 to commemorate the day in 1915 when 300 Armenian leaders were deported or killed by the Ottoman government, while 5,000 Armenians were killed around Istanbul.
Los Angeles City Councilman Paul Krekorian, who is of Armenian descent, said the annual march is important to keep pressure on the Turkish government.
"It is very important for all of us to recognize and condemn man's inhumanity towards man," Councilmember Krekorian said. "Those individual stories [like Rose's] are what bring reality to those horrors."
According to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau, L.A. County has the largest concentration of Armenians in the United States, populating nearly 194,000 people. Nearly one-third of Glendale residents are Armenian.
Governor Jerry Brown also issued a proclamation Wednesday recognizing the "tragedy" of the Armenian genocide.
"On this day, we honor the victims and survivors of the genocide, and reaffirm our commitment to preventing future atrocities from being committed against any people," said Brown's proclamation.
"Pregnant women were eviscerated, their stomachs cut open with swords and their babies ripped out, thrown against the rocks. These I saw with my own eyes..." Khanum Palootzian