Armenians In Utah Gather To Honor Genocide Anniversary
Apr 25, 2021, 6:38 PM | Updated: Jul 11, 2023, 11:08 pm
SALT LAKE CITY — Armenians in Utah gathered in Salt Lake City to honor the anniversary of the genocide and to celebrate President Biden’s distinction.
They met Saturday afternoon, exactly 106 years after the mass killings.
It was a milestone day for Armenians after President Joe Biden formally acknowledged the more than one million Armenians killed by the Ottoman Turks a century ago as genocide.
Other presidents have acknowledged the mass killings, but did not use the word genocide due to Turkish objections.
Those killings began on April 24, 1915.
Local Armenians and descendants of survivors said it was important to use the word genocide when speaking about what happened.
“It is very important for the world to realize that Armenians did have a genocide and we need to prevent it in the future,” said Diana Pogosyan, a University of Utah law student and direct descendant of Armenian genocide survivors.
Turkey has maintained that the number of dead Armenians was 300,000.
Country officials also said it was a period of war and losses were on both sides.
