Hundreds Gather In Beverly Hills To Mark Armenian Genocide Anniversary

BEVERLY HILLS, CA — Hundreds gathered outside the Turkish Consulate in Beverly Hills Sunday to mark the 107th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide in World War I. The demonstration, organized by the Armenian Youth Federation, was one of many across the Southland to commemorate the anniversary, and pressure the Turkish government to recognize the events as a genocide.

Demonstrators also applauded Pres. Joe Biden for being the first U.S. president to formally recognize the events as a genocide in 2021.

Attendees gathered outside the Consulate on Wilshire Boulevard waving Armenian flags and chanting, “1915 never again! Genocide never again!”

"Our community is also calling on the U.S. government to prevent Turkey and Azerbaijan from committing ongoing war crimes against the Armenian people," Alex Galitsky, spokesman for the Armenian National Committee of America, an organizer of the event, told the Los Angeles Times.

Los Angeles County is home to the largest population of Armenians in the United States, with an estimated 214,628 living in the county, according to the 2011 American Community Survey.
To honor the county's Armenian residents and their culture, the Board of Supervisors last month proclaimed April as "Armenian History Month" -- and, last week, also passed a motion declaring April 24 as "Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day in Los Angeles County."

Gov. Gavin Newsom has also issued a proclamation declaring April 24, 2022 "A Day of Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide" in the state of California.

"As we remember the victims and survivors of the Armenian Genocide, we also honor the strength and resilience of the Armenian people," the proclamation said, in part. "Forced to build new lives in all corners of the globe, Armenians bravely forged ahead in the face of unimaginable tragedy. Thousands made their homes in California, and we are greater for their contributions."

April 24 is also observed throughout the Armenian diaspora, and is a holiday in Armenia and the Republic of Artsakh.

The Armenian Genocide began in 1915 and resulted in the deaths of as many as 1.5 million Armenians in a campaign blamed on Turkey's Ottoman government. While the genocide has been chronicled by historians, who often view it as ethnic cleansing, Turkey has denied it occurred, saying the deaths of Armenians was a function of the chaos of World War I, which also claimed Turkish lives.

Until President Joe Biden in 2021 officially called the killings a genocide, American presidents had also declined to do so, instead classifying the deaths at the hands of the Ottoman Empire an atrocity, but not a genocide.

— City News Service contributed to this report.