In
the midst of World War I, the Armenian population of the Ottoman
Empire fell victim to a brutal campaign of extermination organized
by the Young Turk government. This genocide was followed by a
series of equally brutal genocides, marking the twentieth century
as the bloodiest in world history. Today, as we enter the twenty-first
century, we are witnessing another genocide being carried out
in the Darfur region of Sudan. As Armenian-American youth who
are the descendents of survivors from the first genocide of the
twentieth century, we feel we have a special obligation to stand
up against such crimes against humanity.
We
refuse to allow this century to follow in the footsteps of the
previous one. Our goal is to put an end to the cycle of genocide
plaguing humanity. We stand for the prevention and punishment
of all forms of genocide wherever they may occur.
In
an effort to demonstrate our willingness to do everything in our
power in this regard, a group of youth marched 215 miles from
Fresno to Sacramento throughout the month of April, 2005 as a
show of solidarity with the 1.5 million forgotten victims of the
Armenian Genocide. The marchers called on U.S. civic leaders to
properly recognize and commemorate the 90th anniversary of the
Armenian Genocide. Upon arrival in Sacramento a Rally For Humanity
was organized on the steps of the Capitol Building, where dozens
of civic leaders spoke, to a crowd of 1500, about the importance
of proper US recognition of the Armenian Genocide.
We
are convinced that in order to stop future atrocities from occurring,
our first step must be to come to grips with past crimes against
humanity. We believe that it is with US leadership that this issue
can be resolved. By officially recognizing and commemorating the
Armenian Genocide, we will be taking a giant leap forward in ensuring
that the lessons of this terrible crime against humanity are never
forgotten.
