April 24 Declared Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day in Canada

April 24 Declared Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day in Canada –

Ottawa – The Armenian National Committee of Canada (ANCC) welcomes the adoption of Motion M-587 by the Canadian Parliament to declare April of each year as Genocide Remembrance, Condemnation and Prevention Month and to mark April 24 of each year as Armenian Genocide Memorial Day.

ANCC President Dr. Girair Basmadjian said, “This motion reaffirms Canada’s commitment to the important cause of genocide prevention and recognizes that the first step to prevention is to ensure that we remember and condemn past genocides.”  Dr. Basmadjian further stated, “We are very grateful that this motion designates April 24 as Armenian Genocide Memorial Day, so that all Canadians can join with the Armenian community to work to prevent future genocides. This is especially important in light of the religiously and ethnically motivated violence against minorities currently taking place in Iraq and Syria.”

 Motion M-587 recalls that three of the genocides officially recognized by Canada (the Holocaust, the Rwandan Tutsi Genocide and the Armenian Genocide) have memorial days in April, so it deems appropriate to designate April as Genocide Remembrance, Condemnation and Prevention Month.  The ANCC notes that the designation of April 24 as Armenian Genocide Memorial Day by this motion is the first instance when a Canadian federal government body has formally recognized April 24 as Armenian Genocide Memorial Day.

 The adoption of M-587 became possible through the cooperation of all parties of represented in the Parliament of Canada, as well as the combined efforts of the ANCC and The Armenian Genocide Centennial Committee of Canada. The ANCC also recognizes the valuable contribution the AYF Canada and thousands of community members made toward the realization of this milestone declaration.