LOS ANGELES (AP) — The red, blue and orange of Armenia’s flag flew on the streets of Los Angeles on Wednesday as marchers remembered the deaths of 1.5 million Armenians in what is regarded as the first genocide of the 20th century.
A crowd rallied in LA’s Little Armenia district before proceeding down Hollywood Boulevard. Another march was scheduled to culminate with a protest outside the consulate of Turkey, the successor state to the Ottoman Empire, which oversaw the mass deportations and massacres of Armenians.
The large Armenian community in the Los Angeles area has been marking Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day since long before President Joe Biden in 2021 became the first U.S. president to use the word “genocide” to describe the campaign of violence.
The White House had avoided using the term for fear of alienating Turkey, a NATO ally that denies there was a genocide.
Biden repeated the term Wednesday in a statement that recounted the start of the “campaign of cruelty” on April 24, 1915, with the arrest of Armenian intellectuals and community leaders.
Kate Hudson hits the stage to debut songs from her new album Glorious at star
Inside Tori Spelling's VERY youthful skater girl makeover following divorce from Dean McDermott
Hawaii lawmakers take aim at vacation rentals after Lahaina wildfire amplifies Maui housing crisis
Konnor McClain, Haleigh Bryant help LSU women win first NCAA gymnastics title
Socialite Jasmine Hartin enjoys beach snuggle with electrician hunk
Ryan Garcia knocks Devin Haney down 3 times and hands his amateur rival his first pro loss
UN calls for more support as gang violence escalates in Haiti
Independent UN experts urge Yemen’s Houthis to free detained Baha'i followers
TOWIE star Vas J Morgan parties with Booby Tape owners Bianca and Bridgett Roccisano in Melbourne
Kristin Cavallari, 37, ignores critics of her age
Alison Hammond, 49, and new Russian boyfriend David Putman, 26, look loved