Armenian Genocide Commemorated in Istanbul

ISTANBUL — Members of the Human Rights Association Istanbul Branch on Thursday held a memorial ceremony at the city’s Haydarpasa railway station, where more than 600 Armenian notables and intellectuals were gathered on April 24, 1915 to be sent on death marches. Guests from Armenia and various Armenian Diaspora communities took part in the commemorations in Istanbul.

Those who gathered at the station held the photographs of these intellectuals and a banner that read, “We commemorate the victims of the Armenian Genocide,” in Armenian, Turkish, and English, reported Objektifhaber website of Turkey.

The participants in the remembrance event placed carnations on the banner, and after the ceremony, threw these carnations into the sea.

On April 23, a candlelight vigil took place in the Sisli district of Istanbul to commemorate and honor the victims of the Armenian Genocide.

Following the silent vigil, the participants walked through the neighborhood, where ethnic minorities, including Armenians, Greeks and Jews had lived, changing the names of the streets. As Armenian music played from loudspeakers, the organizers passed out booklets to passersby.

Rakel Dink, the wife of the murdered Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, and the parents of Sevag Sahin Balikçi, a young Armenian killed while performing his military duty on April 24, 2011, also attended this year’s commemoration.