BELMONT, Mass. — On April 21, the town’s Board of Selectmen adopted a proclamation acknowledging and affirming the Armenian Genocide.
The presentation was made by Belmont resident Jirair Hovsepian, who had actively pursued the measure.
Hovsepian is a Town Meeting member, a member of the town’s Human Rights Commission and Cultural Council, and a member of the Boston Armenian Genocide Commemoration Committee.
“Tonight I have the honor and the opportunity to speak on behalf of my fellow Armenians and to acknowledge with deep gratitude the receipt of this Proclamation. One hundred years passed since the genocide of Armenians took place in Ottoman Turkey. One hundred years went by in denial and distortion of those events,” he said in part.
He added, “Volumes of personal encounters and historical documentaries are published by Armenian, Turkish, European, Middle-Eastern, and American authors. Detailed recollections of horrific events are still alive in the memories of the descendants of those who perished. And, ironically, the hard facts and undeniable truth about 1915 are best supported by the compromising efforts of Turkish government officials to destroy the evidence, to silence the voices of truth, and to deny the undeniable.”
He gave a brief history of the Armenian people and thanked the local board. “We are grateful to the town of Belmont for allowing this Proclamation to be made and presented today for the seventh year in a row. We appreciate your time and attention, and we thank all the good people who are here to support this Proclamation.”
