ALLIANCE NEWS
April 24, 2015

ALLIANCE PHILIPPINES: REMEMBER THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE ON ITS 100th YEAR, NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE

Los Angeles- “The denial of genocide means twice death by forgetting”

The Alliance-Philippines today militantly remember and is in solidarity with the Armenian people and the Armenian-American community in the United States when it commemorated with protests and memorials the centenary of the the Ottoman Turkish Empire ‘s Armenian Genocide on April 24, 2015.

The Filipino people also knows what genocide is as it remembered the Filipino people’s genocide by the Americans when they destroy the First Philippine Republic from 1899 to 1916.

Like the Filipino-American War like the Turkish systematic massacre of 1.5 Armenians happened when the US troops occupied the Philippines. In the province of Batangas alone, 600,000 Filipinos perished by hunger, forces evacuation and strategic hamleting.

The Armenian Genocide Remembered

During the First World War, the Armenian genocide was the first documented genocide in the 20th century and started with the arrest and killing of Armenian intellectuals and political leaders in Istanbul, Turkey on April 24, 1914.

More than 1.5 million Armenians perished from forced evacuation and marches as well as systematic massacre of Armenians by the Turkish army .
The Turks also systematically destroyed churches, schools, monasteries and whole communities in what is now know as Eastern Turkey which was then called Eastern Armenia.

Largest Protests in LA

The Alliance-Philippines commends the City of Los Angeles by unveiling of a marker and naming the intersection of Western and Hollywood Avenues as the Armenian Genocide Memorial Square on April 24, 2015.

After the unveiling more than 130,000 Armenian and Allies marched towards the Turkish Consulate in Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles. Prominent LA political leaders also marched with the protestors.

The Filipino-American community is one with the Armenian community because up to now the US Congress does not recognize the 250,000 Filipino World War II veterans who fought for America.

Like that the US Congress and President Obama’s refusal to recognize or call the Armenian Genocide for what it is, they continue to deny the Filipino-American community and its veterans of their rights and benefits.

We will not forget and will continue to fight for justice.

No Justice, No Peace! Genocide is genocide, lest we forget!

Arturo Garcia
National Coordinator
Alliance-Philippines
Los Angeles

April 24, 2015

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