The 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide was commemorated by thousands of people who gathered in Bourj Hammoud and marched all the way to the Holy See of Cilicia in Antelias. (Credit: João Sousa/L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT — Lebanese politicians and parties observed the 109th anniversary of the 1915 Armenian genocide on Wednesday, reflecting on a tragic episode in history that claimed over a million lives at the hands of Turkish forces amid the collapse of the Ottoman Empire after its defeat in World War I.
The date commemorates the deportation of Armenian intellectuals on 24 April 1915 from Constantinople (present-day Istanbul).
Lebanon's own history is intertwined with the genocide, having provided refuge to Armenians fleeing the atrocities between 1918 and 1920. Lebanon is now home to around 156,000 Armenians, according to Minority Rights Group International.
A girl on 23 April 2024 during the commemoration of the 109th anniversary of the Armenian genocide in Beirut. (Credit: João Sousa/L'Orient Today)
Presidential candidate Sleiman Frangieh reaffirmed the enduring significance of the cause, stating, "A cause will not die when there is a living nation that believes in it," in a statement published on X.
MP Sami Gemayel, head of the Kataeb Party, emphasized on X that "Each year, we remember the Ottoman massacres against the Christians of the East and the inhabitants of Mount Lebanon. We remember to preserve the collective memory of oppressed peoples who have remained dignified."
Samir Geagea, leader of the Lebanese Forces, somberly declared, "April 24 will remain a black point in the history of humanity," on X.
Paula Yaacoubian of the Forces of Change group condemned both active participation and complicit silence in genocide, stating, "Some of them commit the crime and deny it, and among them is the most heinous, the one who remains silent about the butcher and the killing of innocents," on X.
Gebran Bassil, head of the Free Patriotic Movement, wrote that the "The commemoration of the Armenian genocide, as well as the Syriac massacre of Sayfo, and the starvation killings in Mount Lebanon, is an occasion to condemn any exclusionary ideology that justifies massacres in the name of religion, ethnicity, or to achieve a political project that ends in bloodshed. Every genocide that does not receive legal judgment or does not shame its perpetrators is an invitation for it to be repeated by other criminals. From Armenia to Gaza... history bears witness."
Poster held up by a protester on 23 April 2024 during the commemoration of the 109th anniversary of the Armenian genocide in Beirut. (Credit: João Sousa/L'Orient Today)
The Syrian Social Nationalist Party echoed these sentiments in a statement relayed by the state-run National News Agency, condemning the Turkish massacres against Armenians and calling for global condemnation and accountability.
Poster held up by young girl on 23 April 2024 during the commemoration of the 109th anniversary of the Armenian genocide in Beirut. (Credit: João Sousa/L'Orient Today)
In a show of solidarity, thousands gathered in Bourj Hammoud and marched to the Holy See of Cilicia in Antelias, with scouts carrying torches and attendees displaying signs in support of not only the Armenian cause but also the Palestinian struggle.
Turkey accepts that many Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire were killed in clashes with Ottoman forces during World War One, but contests the figures and denies that the killings were systematically orchestrated and constitute a genocide, according to a Reuters report.