The Los Angeles City Council Friday commemorated the anniversary of the Armenian Genocide and honored two Armenian American actors featured in “Anora,” this year’s Academy Award winner for Best Picture.
Councilman Adrin Nazarian led the council in recognizing the 110th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. He also introduced a resolution Tuesday marking April 24 as a Day of Remembrance for victims.
According to the resolution, Armenian people living in their 3,000-year historic homeland in eastern Asian Minor and throughout the Ottoman Empire were subjected to severe persecution and brutal injustice involving widespread massacres, usurpation of land and property and acts of wanton destruction from 1894 to 1896, and again in 1909.
The Armenian Genocide began April 24, 1915, with the arrest of hundreds of Armenian scholars, business, political and religious leaders in Constantinople, and those actions spread throughout the Armenian Highland and Anatolia, according to the resolution.
Nazarian’s resolution states that the ruling regime of the Ottoman Empire, known as the “Young Turks,” planned and carried out atrocities against Armenians from 1915 to 1923.
An estimated 1,500,000 Armenians died as a result of torture, starvation and murder, and more than 500,000 people died in death marches into the Syrian Desert, the resolution states.
Nazarian, who is Armenian, noted that Los Angeles is home to the largest population of descendants of Armenian Genocide survivors outside of Armenia.
“The aftermath of the Armenian Genocide has been a testament to the strength and resilience of the Armenian people, who were forced to build new lives in new lands around the world, bravely moving forward in the face of unimaginable tragedy and preserving their ancient culture and sense of national identity,” the resolution reads.
Nazarian welcomed Karren Karagulian, who has appeared in every film by “Anora” director Sean Baker whose films showcase the immigrant experience in America, and actor Vache Tovmasyan, a major film and TV star in Armenia. “Anora” was Tovmasyan’s second American film.
Nazarian said he invited the actors to recognize their accomplishments and highlight the importance of Armenian representation in the media.