Today we honor the memory of our compatriots who one hundred and five years ago were subjected to genocide in their historical homeland. One and half million men and women, elderly and children were massacred merely for being Armenian.

This atrocity committed in the Ottoman Turkey at the state level was directed not only against Armenian people, it was a crime against humanity. I am confident that there is no alternative but for the modern day Turkey to face its history, to recognize the Armenian Genocide and to provide just reparation.

As a nation that survived this ordeal, we are compelled to make our voices heard at every opportunity not only about the genocide perpetrated against our ancestors, but also about all other genocides that followed Metz Yeghern (Great Calamity), in order to prevent such crimes against humanity from ever happening again.