Armenians Commemorate 104 Years Since Genocide

FEATURING PETER BALAKIAN – Tens of thousands of people marched to the Turkish Consulate in Los Angeles on Wednesday April 24th, the day that Armenians commemorated the 104th anniversary of the genocide. The yearly March for Justice is organized by LA’s Armenian community – the largest group of Armenians outside Armenia, and this year, as in the past, marchers are demanding a recognition from Turkey of the genocide and its role.

The Armenian Genocide is the massacre of a million and a half Armenians at the hands of Turkish forces in 1915. The use of the term “genocide” is highly controversial for Turkey, which has denied its role. But naming the mass killings as a genocide has been a deeply emotional issue for the Armenian community both inside Armenia and in the diaspora.

Peter Balakian, Pulitzer Prize winning poet, author of several poetry collections, and the author of the prize winning 2003 book, The Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide and America’s Response. He is a Professor in Humanities and Professor of English at Colgate University. In addition to winning a Pulitzer,he has is the recipient of many awards and prizes and civic citations including a Presidential Medal and the Moves Khoranatsi Medal from the Republic of Armenia, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship.