Armenian Genocide Centennial Commemoration Events in Norway

• 03.04.2015, 13:00
•  Armenia,  Diaspora

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide committed by the Ottoman Turkey in 1915. The Armenian Genocide, first genocide of the 20th century, was planned and carried out by the "Young Turk" government of Ottoman Turkey in 1915 (with subsidiaries to 1922-23). One and a half million Armenians were killed on their ancestral lands. The Armenian Genocide is considered one of the three archetypes of what constitutes a genocide by Norwegian and international historians.

Events and initiatives marking the centennial are being held around the world throughout the year of 2015. Leaders from around the world including French President Hollande and Pope Francis will gather in capital of Armenia on April 24, to commemorate this event, the Armenian Cultural Association in Norway informs.

The Association also informed "Armedia" IAA that it is pleased to present various commemorative events marking the centennial in Norway. Events on such a solid scale in Norway signal that the country and the people of great explorer, scientist and humanist - an outstanding advocate for the rights for the Armenian people - Fridtjof Nansen, carry on his mission and demand that justice be served.

The events organized by Norwegian Church’s cultural agency Kirkelig Kulturverksted include a film screening, photo exhibition, theater performances, a cultural workshop, a concert and a panel discussion on political aspects of denial within the prestigious annual Red Zone Festival, happening this week, sponsored by freedom of expression foundation Fritt Ord and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Holocaust Senteret (Norwegian Center for Studies of Holocaust and Religious Minorities) is also central in marking the centennial in Norway. It has already organized a film screening and public lecture, hosted a commemoration concert by world’s oldest string quartet from Armenia - the Komitas Quartet. Holocaust Senteret is hosting an instrumental international conference, later this week, with the participation of some of the biggest names in studies of genocide, including Taner Akçam (Clark University, USA), Matthias Bjørnlund (Danish Institute for Study Abroad), Sigurd Sverre Stangeland (Norwegian University of Science and Technology), Vahé Tachjian (The Houshamadyan Project, Germany), Uğur Ümit Üngör (University of Utrecht, the Netherlands), Seyhan Bayraktar (USA), Yair Auron (The Open University of Israel), Anton Weiss-Wendt (Holocaust Senteret, Norway), Bård Larsen (Civita, Norway).

In city of Stavanger, on February 25, a discussion on the Armenian Genocide was arranged within the Global Morgen event series, with Turkey’s leading human rights activist Ragıp Zarakolu (now in exile in Sweden). The event series are organized by Internasjonalt kulturnettverk, ICORN and UN Association in Rogaland province.