Dec. 9 Declared ‘Day of Remembrance of Victims of All Genocides’ in Armenia

YEREVAN (A.W.)—The Government of Armenia has approved a motion declaring December 9 as a “Day of Remembrance of Victims of All Genocides.” According to Panorama.am, The motion was presented by Members of Parliament Artak Zakaryan, Zaruhi Postanjyan, Koryun Nahapetyan, Tevan Poghosyan, Shirak Torosyan, and Alexander Arzumanyan in 2014, according to Panorama.am.

Zaruhi Postanjyan (Photo: Photolur)

“The aim of the initiative is to remedy historical injustices, protect human rights and struggle against Turkey’s genocide denial policy,” Heritage Party member Zaruhi Postanjyan told the Armenian Weekly, adding that the draft statement specifically condemned the Greek, Assyrian and Yezidi genocides in the Ottoman Empire.
During the Feb. 12 session, Armenia’s Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan noted that the government had no fundamental objections on the draft of the law and that it was in accordance to the constitution.
According to the reasoning submitted by the sponsoring Members of Parliament, the adoption of the draft law is “due to the need to set December 9 as the day of condemnation and remembrance of all genocides, based on the fact that the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide on December 9, 1948.”
Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day is a national holiday in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh Republic observed on April 24. It is held annually to commemorate the victims of the Armenian Genocide from 1915 to 1923