Thirty-two years after five young Armenian men gave their lives in the “Lisbon Five” operation, Armenians around the world—from Beirut to L.A. to Boston—held commemoration events and requiem services in their memory.
A scene from the commemoration in Lebanon (Photo: Aztag – Talar Alyemezian)
On July 27, 1983, Sarkis Aprahamian, Setrag Adjemian, Vatche Daghlian, Ara Kuhrjlian, and Simon Yahniyan chose to give their lives to what they called a “sacrifice to the altar of freedom.”
On July 26 in Lebanon, their birthplace, a commemoration event drew a large crowd to the Bourdj Hammoud cemetery. Titled “From Nemesis to Lisbon, from Lisbon to a United Armenia,” the event allowed participants to pay respects to the legacy of the Lisbon Five. A requiem service led by Primate Shahe Panossian followed.
A commemoration event on July 26 drew a large crowd to the Bourdj Hammoud cemetery, where mourners lit candles and placed flowerson the men’s graves (Photo: Aztag – Talar Alyemezian)
Hagop Pakradouni, a member of Lebanon’s Parliament and chair of Lebanon’s Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Central Committee, delivered the evening’s keynote address, in which he stressed that the Lisbon Five operation was the act of impassioned youth who yearned for justice in the face of continued injustice.
At that time, he explained, Armenia and Artsakh still lived under Turkish and Azerbaijani threats. Even today, Turkey continues to practice a policy aimed at the extermination of the Armenians, he said.
On behalf of the organizing committee, Meghri Babigian spoke about the memory of the Lisbon Five, and expressed her hope that such events lead to a renewed commitment by the younger generation to continue the Armenian demands for justice.
At the conclusion of the event, the family members of the Lisbon Five were given commemorative plaques.
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