Type National Frequency annual | Date 24 April | |
 | ||
Observed by Armenia
Nagorno-Karabakh
United States (California) Significance Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide Next time 24 April 2017 (2017-04-24) | ||
Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day (Armenian: Մեծ Եղեռնի զոհերի հիշատակի օր Mets Yegherrni zoheri hishataki or; Russian: Геноцид армян День памяти, Genotsid armyan Den' pamyati; Turkish: Ermeni Soykırımı Anma Günü) or Armenian Genocide Memorial Day is a national holiday in Armenia and the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and is observed by the Armenian diaspora on April 24. It is held annually to commemorate the victims of the Armenian Genocide of 1915. In Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, hundreds of thousands of people walk to the Tsitsernakaberd Genocide Memorial to lay flowers at the eternal flame.
History
The date 24 April commemorates the deportation of Armenian intellectuals on 24 April 1915 from Constantinople (current Istanbul, Turkey). The first commemoration, organized by a group of Armenian Genocide survivors, was held in Istanbul in 1919 at the local St. Trinity Armenian church. Many prominent figures in the Armenian community participated in the commemoration. Following its initial commemoration in 1919, the date became the annual day of remembrance for the Armenian Genocide.
On 9 April 1975, the US House of Representatives passed Joint Resolution 148 designating 24 April as a National Day of Remembrance of Man’s Inhumanity to Man. The Resolution commemorated the victims of genocide, especially those of Armenian ancestry who succumbed to the genocide perpetrated in 1915, The resolution however failed to pass in the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee due to President Gerald R. Ford’s strong opposition to what he saw as a threat to the country's strategic alliance with Turkey.
In 1988, Soviet Armenia formally adopted 24 April as a public day of commemoration.
In 1997 the California State Assembly declared 24 April as a Day of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923, and for the victims of the Sumgait Pogroms of 1988 and Baku Riots of 1990.
The day is also chosen by Assyrian/Syriacs to commemorate the Assyrian Genocide especially in diaspora.