Formation, Development and Current State of the Armenian Genocide Victims Remembrance Day (Part 2)

Abstract

On April 24, 1965, Armenians both in the Soviet Armenia and Diaspora commemorated the 50th anniversary of Mets Yeghern. In the Soviet Armenia this became possible not only due to the changes within the wide circles of the society after the Khrushchev Thaw but also because of the political will of the Armenian authorities, namely, Yakov Zarobyan, the First Secretary of the Armenian Communist Party. The decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was preceded by a long sequence of preparatory work, among which was a letter addressed to the authorities of Moscow in December 1964. Thanks to some ideological statements there, the Armenian Genocide has been moved from the level of a solely Armenian tragedy to the level of the world history. The commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Mets Yeghern took place on two levels: people and state/party. The mass demonstration, peoples’ march, the distribution of leaflets and intrusion to the Opera building were the sure indicators of a national outbreak. Thanks to a position of the Armenian authorities no mass persecution against the participants was followed. The commemoration of April 24, 1965 in Yerevan broke the wall of official silence and revealed the truth about one of the greatest tragedies of the 20th century to the wide public. It gave rise to scholarly researches, publication of books and archival records relating to the events of 1915 and resulted in the inclusion of the 1915 Genocide into the textbooks. Finally, it was a unique case when the authorities and people were fighting for the same cause even though from the opposite ends. They fought and reached their goal. One of the evidences of this fight was the construction of the Memorial during 2,5 years, which immediately took its place among the symbols of the Armenian identity. It has been 50 years since that people are organizing annual April 24th marches to the Memorial. On April 24-25, 1965 in different parts of Diaspora Remembrance Day of the Victims of Mets Yeghern was solemnly commemorated. It can be stated, that the solemn commemoration of April 24, 1965 in different communities of the Armenian Diaspora displayed the qualitative transition from the culture of mourning to another level of commemoration ceremonies. Particularly, the idea that the perpetrators of the Armenian Genocide are finally getting/should get their worthy punishment/assessment was present. On the eve of April 24, many memorials are being built in different corners of the world. On April 24, 1975, for the first time the authorities of the Soviet Armenia officially paid tribute to the memory of Mets Yeghern victims by visiting the Genocide Memorial. At 7pm a Moment of Silence in the memory of the Genocide victims was announced on the television and radio. On November 22, 1988, the Supreme Council of the Armenian SSR adopted the law on the “Condemnation of the Armenian Genocide of 1915 in the Ottoman Turkey” and recognized April 24 the “Remembrance Day of the Victims of the Armenian Genocide.” During the Karabakh Movement or the Armenian Revolution (February 20, 1988 – August 23, 1990) the change in the essence of the Remembrance Day has occurred: it became the day of presenting political demands on different issues of social life. The article details the commemoration of the Remembrance Day of the Genocide victims in the context of the commemorative rituals of the Armenian people. In 1965, during the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Mets Yeghern, the memory of Genocide attained a new status. It can be stated that it became a pan-national “property,” a feature for the whole Armenians. The Genocide memory became a constituent part of the Armenian identity and through the efforts of Hay Dat and other similar organizations became known to the world. On the centennial of the Armenian Genocide not the memory of Mets Yeghern but the memory of Armenian Genocide still remains as one of the most important manifestations of the Armenian identity. This memory is one of the unique elements which unite different political forces and started influencing not only the preservation but also the formation of a nation. Executive and legislative bodies of more than twenty-five countries as well as various international organizations have now recognized the Armenian Genocide. The vast majority of recognitions as a rule happen on or around April 24. More than hundred years have passed since the Armenian Genocide. It is high time to reconsider the concealed meaning of the Remembrance Day, transform it, and at least change its emphasis by putting another wording for April 24 into circulation: “Remembrance Day of the Victims of the Armenian Genocide and the Heroes of the Selfdefense Battles.”