25 April 2008, 12:17
US President condoles with Armenians on the genocide day
On April 24, in his annual traditional address to the Armenian community of the USA on the day of genocide against Armenians, George W. Bush, President of the USA, treated the tragic events of 1915 as "massacre and deportation".
"We honour the memory of the victims of one of the greatest tragedies of the 20th century, the mass killings and forced exile of as many as 1.5 million Armenians at the end of the Ottoman Empire. I join the Armenian community in America and around the world in commemorating this tragedy and mourning the loss of so many innocent lives," runs the statement by US President addressed to the Americans of Armenian origin.
President Bush has also addressed the Armenian government: "We call on the Government of Armenia to take decisive steps to promote democracy, and will continue our support for Armenia to this end."
The "Caucasian Knot" informed earlier that annually on April 24 hundreds thousand people in Armenia in memory of the victims visit the Memorial Complex to Victims of Genocide in Yerevan and lay down flowers and wreaths. On this day, many countries of the world, which have Armenian communities: USA, Russia, France, Belgium, Poland, Czechia, Austria, Australia, Argentina, Cyprus, Lebanon, Iran and others countries hold memorial services in Armenian churches. People lay flowers to Armenian khachkars (a khachkar means a stone-cross in which the Armenian Christian cross is engraved, - note of the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent), which can be found in many countries of the world.
Author: Lilit Ovanisyan, CK correspondent
