On Thursday, April 24, 2025, the Armenian Youth Federation – Youth Organization of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Washington, D.C. “Ani” Chapter led the Greater Washington community in a powerful “March for Justice,” which commemorated the anniversary of the Armenian Genocide and the recent genocidal ethnic cleansing of Artsakh, emphasizing the ongoing struggle for justice and recognition.
Sireli Hayrenageetsner, Ungerner ev baregamner,
Today, I stand not only in front of the Turkish Embassy in Washington, D.C. but before all of you: an enduring community that gathers year after year, on this very day, to commemorate not just history, but to carry the weight of a shared, generational pain and frustration. A feeling passed down to us by our grandmothers and grandfathers, whose voices now echo through us, as we witness yet another chapter of sorrow unfold in front of our eyes, mimicking the horrifying stories we’ve heard time and time again.
Today, we are not only here to remember the atrocities of the Armenian Genocide that took place in 1915, but to confront the harsh and inescapable reality that our people continue to suffer. We remember the annihilation of our indigenous land of Artsakh, a tragedy that unfolded in 2023, and is yet another painful continuation of the suffering our ancestors endured.
Some may think that the word “annihilation” is too strong, but I challenge them to walk in our shoes, to step onto the soil that our ancestors once cherished, and see with their own eyes the graveyards desecrated, the churches destroyed, the lives shattered, and the thousands of our people who were forced into a mass exodus. When your land is stolen from you, when your very existence is challenged and eradicated, what other word can we use to describe this horror but annihilation?
But let me be clear: annihilation does not mean the absence of rehabilitation. It does not mean that we have been erased from history or that our struggle is over. Because no matter the attempts to destroy us, we remain. The people of Artsakh, who were forcibly displaced from their homes, are watching us right now. They see us standing here, resolute, unwavering, and they know that we will never forget their anguish, because we share their anguish. We will never bow down to the forces that wish to extinguish us, to the genocidal regimes of Aliyev, backed by Erdogan.
Our resistance begins with us. It begins with you, the people who stand here today, with our voices rising together in unison. We cannot afford to be passive. We cannot afford the temptation of apathy in the face of such profound injustice. If we allow ourselves to forget, if we let ourselves become numb to the suffering of our brothers and sisters, then we have lost everything.
As we continue to fight for recognition, for justice and for peace, we must remember that we are not alone. Our cause is not unique. Our pain is not singular. Our struggle is shared with others who too know the devastating weight of oppression, who too know what it means to be dispossessed of land, dignity and life.
I want to share a few lines with you today, lines from Palestinian poet Najwan Darwish in his poem “Who Remembers the Armenians?”:
“I remember them
and I ride the nightmare bus with them
each night
and my coffee, this morning
I’m drinking it with them
You, murderer —
Who remembers you?”
These words ring so true today. It is not enough for us to remember the past. We must remember the struggles of others, for in their struggles, we find solidarity. In their resistance, we find hope. We stand alongside all those who face oppression, and together, we challenge the systems of power that perpetuate this cycle of violence.
The minds of political powerhouses are not meant to be changed by mere words; they are meant to be challenged by the resilience of those who stand together. We remember 1915, we remember 2016, we remember 2020, we remember 2023, and we will continue to remember, for as long as it takes, every atrocity and every injustice inflicted upon our people. And we will make sure that history is never forgotten, never erased.
But today, we must also remember something else. Today, we remember the betrayal of those who were supposed to protect us, those who were entrusted with safeguarding the future of our nation. We remember the actions of a man, whom I will not dignify by naming, who sold out our lands, who sold out our people, all in the name of political expediency, economic gain and the false promise of peace.
Ask Davit Babayan, Davit Ishkhanyan, Arayik Harutyunyan, Ruben Vardanyan, Levon Mnatsakanyan, Madat Babayan, Bako Sahakyan, Davit Manukyan and Arkadi Ghukasyan, whether peace, economic development or coexistence is worth the price of their lives as political prisoners, tortured and humiliated in an Azeri prison. Ask them if their sacrifice was in vain. Ask them if they believe the traitor’s vision of a peaceful Armenia is worth the blood of our people.
How many more lives? How many more villages? How many more provinces? How many more genocides will it take before this misguided pursuit of peace, built on the blood of our ancestors, comes to an end? We cannot—we will not—accept a peace built on the destruction of our people and our lands.
We are not here to change their minds. Their opinions, their hatred, are deeply ingrained. They are born of corruption, of historical revisionism and political malice. We are here to show that no matter how deep their hatred runs, no matter how loud their denials may be, the blood of our ancestors that stains the soil of Van, Moush and Ani runs even deeper. The Armenian spirit is not so easily erased.
Every year, we repeat the phrase: “Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it.” We see this happening right now, in our time, in the very land of Artsakh. We are here today because we refuse to allow history to repeat itself unchecked. We refuse to let our past, our pain, our struggles and our survival be forgotten.
As we remember, let us also act. Let us honor the memory of those who came before us by standing firm, by resisting silence, by standing with our brothers and sisters, and by ensuring that the world never forgets what happened in 1915, what continues to happen in 2023, and what we will never allow to happen again.
Let us remember, and let us act, so that the tragedies of the past are never repeated. Let us continue towards the goal of a free, independent and united Armenia; a phrase that has been on a loop in our minds, and in our ancestors’ minds; a phrase that will continue to be repeated, until our goal is met.
I’d like to end with a poem by Diana Der-Hovanessian:
“And Armenian words have worn thin like old coins, changed, exchanged in vain, gaining a soft patina unmatched except by old monasteries in the rain. Their meanings have grown ironic with a subtle subliminal drone. Take the word for justice, for instance, with its satiric overtones.”
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