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AYF Organizes Annual Demonstration at Turkish Consulate
LOS ANGELES--As the Armenian community of Los Angeles slept soundly on
Monday night, the sun had already risen on the countries of the Eastern hemisphere,
bringing with it the very long day of April 24th to Armenians all around.
Thousands of Armenians took time out of their everyday life to commemorate
the loss of the victims of the 1915 Genocide and to unleash their voice against
governments who still deny them their history and identity. Like a burning
torch their voices were carried from one Armenian community to another until
they reached our shores.
Beginning at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, the voices of a demanding Armenian public
were heard loudly in front of the Turkish embassy of Los Angeles, located on the
busy Wilshire Boulevard. Close to 2,500 Armenians of all ages, held up
banners of protest up high and marched in a large circle on the entrance side of the
embassy. The protesters chanted slogans, demanding that Turkey recognize the
commitment of its crime against the Armenians. The protesters also held up
their signs to the passing rush hour traffic of Wilshire, in hopes of
enlightening the greater Los Angeles public about a crime against humanity
that has been pushed under the table for the greater part of the twentieth
century.
The demonstration, which is an honored tradition of its organizers, the
Armenian Youth Federation, takes on a life of its own each year. This year's
crowd seemed to overflow from the sidewalks and even decided to cross the
street and make a rotation around the block. The crowd's crossing of the
street forced the police officers on hand to stop the flow of traffic on Wilshire,
giving the protesters a chance to walk pass in front of the cars more
closely and allow the drivers to read the banners.
At the end of the demonstration, the crowd gathered at the edge of one of
the side streets of the embassy building to let out their cries of justice one
last time before they returned home. 86 years of an oppressed truth came
screeching out with the chants of the crowd as they continuously repeated "We want
justice". AYF CE Chairman Miko Melkonian, who was being carried on the
shoulders of his friends, took the loud speaker in hand and thanked the
crowd for coming and joining the AYF in protesting against inhumanity. He also
re-assured the people that AYF would continue the struggle for justice until
that justice is served to the Armenians.
Glendale Unified School Board member Greg Krikorian also spoke to the crowd
urging them to continue working for the Armenian Cause and pledging that he
will partake in the struggle for justice for as long as it is demanded. The
angry and demanding voices of the afternoon turned into harmony at the end
of the protest, as community members sent the sun of April 24th away with the
singing of the Armenian national anthem, "Mer Hayrenik"
Armenian, Assyrian and Hellenic Genocide News Archives