Memorial to House Genocide Relics from Der Zor
STEPANAKERT (A.W.) – The opening ceremony of Stepanakert’s Armenian Genocide monument will take place in mid-April. Speaking to Armenpress, David Babayan, the spokesperson for the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) President Bako Sahakyan, stressed the importance of having an official memorial in Artsakh’s capital. “The bell tower-monument is a unique structure and will become the most important memorial which is dedicated to the centenary of the Armenian Genocide,” said Babayan.
The design of the Armenian Genocide monument in Stepanakert
Babayan also announced that relics from Der Zor, Syria, will be added to the foundation of the bell-tower monument. “The relics brought from Der Zor will be buried in the foundation of the bell tower. [The relics] were given to us by the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute. The bell tower will become a place, where the people of Artsakh will come and pay tribute,” Babayan said.
Terrorists destroyed the Armenian Genocide Memorial Church in Der Zor– considered the Auschwitz of the Armenian Genocide – The Armenian Weekly reported on Sept. 21, 2014. Hundreds of thousands of Armenians perished in Der Zor and the surrounding desert during the genocide.
The Der Zor Armenian Genocide Memorial Church housed remains of victims of the genocide.
In an exclusive interview with The Armenian Weekly in January, Artak Beglaryan, spokesperson for NKR Prime Minister Arayik Harutyunyan, discussed the progress on the monument and about plans to commemorate the Armenian Genocide Centennial in Artsakh. Beglaryan said several commemorative events would be taking place in the country on a state level, including exhibitions, conferences, and concerts, adding that “Artsakh’s population is part of the Armenian world; it will join the commemorative initiatives and efforts around the globe.”
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