By Rosario Teixeira
BOSTON, Mass—During the month of April, the 2014 Armenian Genocide commemorative billboards will be displayed at the corner of Arsenal and School Streets in Watertown; on Cambridge Street, at the Lechmere Station in Cambridge; and on Route 1 South, 1/4 mile from the Gillette Stadium, in Foxboro.
Sponsored by Peace of Art, Inc., the 2014 Armenian Genocide commemorative billboards honor the victims and survivors of the Armenian Genocide. In this year’s message, “Recognize the Crime of the Century, the Armenian Genocide,” the word “genocide” has imbedded the number 100, and handcuffs. The number 100 refers to the approaching 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. The handcuffs refer to a century of victimization and denial by the perpetrators of the Armenian Genocide and their supporters. The Armenian Genocide was the crime of the century because it was the first genocide of the 20th century. Had the genocide been condemned by the world community, it would have been a step toward ensuring that such crimes that attempt to eliminate unwanted groups defined by race, religion, and ethnicity, do not take place in the future.
Millions of people around the world have been killed, falling victim to genocidal campaigns, political calculations, and ethnic cleansing. As the Armenian people struggle for recognition of the crime of the century, the world remains blind to crimes against humanity perpetrated around the globe. The world community must recognize the Armenian genocide and condemn other such crimes.
In 1996, Peace of Art, Inc. founder and president, Daniel Varoujan Hejinian, began to display the annual Armenian Genocide commemorative billboards, bringing awareness about the Armenian Genocide to the community at large. Since 2003, through the annual commemorative billboards, Peace of Art, Inc. has been calling for the recognition of the Armenian Genocide, and it has urged the President of the United States, and the United Nations to recognize the Armenian Genocide. It is also time to urge Turkey to confront its history, and to make amends.
“To deny the Armenian Genocide is to further victimize those who perished and their descendants, it is an act of blaming the victims. After a century of denial, it is time to place the ‘handcuffs’ on the criminals. For those who think that after the last survivor dies there will be no more witnesses, and with the passing of time the Armenian genocide will be forgotten, know that all Armenians are survivors of the genocide, and as long as the Armenian genocide remains unrecognized by Turkey, millions of Armenians around the world will demand recognition and justice,” said Hejinian.
Peace of Art, Inc., is a non-profit educational organization registered with the Massachusetts Secretary of State, and tax exempt under section 501(C)(3). For more information visit www.PeaceofArt.org
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I’d like to see this billboard all over the country, especially in this year, leading up to the 100th anniversary of the massive crime against humanity. I’d also like to see this on a bumper sticker, so it can be posted on our cars and we can have the opportunity to extend the message. Thank you for putting together this creative expression of our cry for justice.