Commemoration of the Armenian genocide

Tuesday, April 24, Maire de Paris received at the end of the morning the Armenian community to the Town hall at the time of the commemoration of the genocide of the Armenians. At the beginning of evening, at 18:00, it went Place of Canada for a ceremony in front of the statue of Père Komitas, victim in 1915 of the raid of the 800 intellectuals.

The Komitas father, from his true name Soghonom Soghonomian was born in 1869 in a modest family which liked the music. He loses his mother whereas he has only one year then his father at the 11 years age.   He He makes studies of theology and is ordered priest in 1892, a year later, he are appointed professor of music of the college of Etchmiadzine then Doctor of Divinity in 1896; he continues his formation in Berlin in 1899. Three years later, he is doctor in musicology. Founder of the movement arménophile in France, it returns in his country in 1907 then creates a music school in Constantinople in 1910 and in 1914, it goes back to Paris to give a concert then another to Constantinople on April 13th, 1915 with 300 chorus–singers. Eleven days after, on April 24th, 1915 begins the first genocide of the 20th century, the Komitas father is stopped in the raid of 800 intellectuals then off–set to the camp of Tchanguiri in the deserts of the Ottoman Empire. Thanks to the intervention of Western diplomats whose American ambassador, it is released but the reason lost. In 1919, after hospitalization in its country, it is transferred in France to Evrard City then to the psychiatric hospital from Villejuif where it dies on October 15th, 1935. It is buried as Armenia in 1936. A statue is set up with Erevan and another in Paris in the 8th district.

For the 103ème commemoration of the Armenian genocide, Anne Hidalgo made a point of pointing out the commitment of Paris towards the Armenian nationals; she pointed out the duty to remember and underlined the violence used in their connection by the mode Young Turk in 1915 /1916 then still until our days by the mode of President Erdogan who does not recognize the génocidetrs. She also evoked in front of the community and the copresidents of the CCAF (the Council of Coordination of the Armenian organizations in France) Mourad Papazian and Ara Toranian but also Viguen Tchitetchian, ambassador of Armenia in France, the strong bonds which bind the two countries.

Ara Toranian made a point of denouncing the assassination of the Assyro–Chaldees during the genocide of 1915 and of the Greeks pontic as well as Kurdish progressists by Turkish. He also greeted the other communities victims of genocides such as the Jews, the tutsi and the Cypriot ones whose representatives were present at the Town hall. He also evoked the resignation of the former President become Prime Minister Serge Sakissian.

The ceremony of the evening in front of the bronze statue of the Père Komitas carried out by David Yerevantsi and inaugurated in 2003 by presidents Chirac and Kotcharian in the presence of Patrick Devedjian, Bertrand Delanoe, Charles Aznavour and the Turkish editor Ragip Zarakolu joined together the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, Nicolas Hulot, Minister for the ecological Transition, Jeanne d‘Hauteserre, mayor of the 8th district, the copresidents of the CCAF, Mourad Papazian and Ara Toranian as well as the deputy Jacques Marilossian, president of the group of friendship France–Armenia, which represented President Macron in official visit in the United States. Wreaths were laid before the speeches by the personalities at the bottom of the statue of Père Komitas. The message of Emmanuel Macron addressed to the President of the Republic of Armenia, Armen Sarkissian was read by the deputy. In the public, many elected officials were present as well as personalities of any edge among the most 5,000 people who had moved for the occasion.

After the speeches, a walk of claim moved in the calm to the Champs Elysées, within walking distance of the embassy of Turkey.  A speech of the representatives of NOR Seround and Nazarpek was made at the end.

President Macron who made the promise in his countryside to register with the calendar one day for the commemoration of the Armenian genocide is engaged during dining it annual on the CCAF to support this project. He will go besides as Armenia next October for a visit of state which will correspond to the Summit of Francophonie.Le Foreign Minister will go him to Erevan for the 100 years of the capital.

In addition, the Tumo school created in 2011 in Erevan by a couple of rich patrons arméno–American, Sam and Sylvia Simonian, via the foundation Simonian Educationnal Foundation will open another establishment in Paris next September. One hopes for of it also an establishment in Los Angeles.

This school, mixes of a school of art and of a data–processing school of coding is single in the world and addresses themselves to the teenagers from 11 to 18 years in their proposer to develop free after lécole centers of interest (robot–like, video games, video and music), the pupils are registered with a course per week, the choice and can work on the 385 computers which the school proposes. At the end of two years, the cycle is buckled by a final project.
  

About The Author

VERONIQUE YANG

See author's posts