Artsakh flag raised during genocide commemorations in South America

Throughout April, Armenian communities across South America commemorated the 111th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide with marches, religious ceremonies, academic events, cultural programs and political statements in Argentina, Uruguay, Chile and Brazil. This year’s commemorations were marked by a renewed emphasis on the right of return for Armenians of Artsakh, the demand for the release of Armenian prisoners held in Azerbaijan, and the defense of Armenian historical memory against genocide denial. Across cities and events, the flag of the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) emerged as a central symbol, carried predominantly by a new generation determined to keep its presence visible in the collective struggle for justice. Argentina In Buenos Aires, thousands marched April 24 to the residence of the Turkish ambassador. Organized by the Inter-Youth Council of the Armenian Community of Buenos Aires (MICA), the demonstration became one of the largest in recent years. The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) and its sister organizations — Armenian Youth Federation (AYF), Homenetmen, Armenian Relief Society (ARS), Hamazkayin, Jrimian (Khrimian) Armenian School and Juniors — marched with flags and slogans demanding the right of return for the Armenian people to the Republic of Artsakh. The group also held a torchlight march, emulating the annual march organized by the ARF youth in Armenia on the eve of April 24. Maria Racubian of AYF South America and Alex Adjemian of the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) read the central statement prepared by MICA. “We are no longer marching only for the 1.5 million victims of the Armenian Genocide, but also for the more than 120,000 Armenians displaced from Artsakh,” they stated, describing the 2023 events as ethnic cleansing.  Click to view slideshow. The statement demanded “recognition and reparations for the Armenian Genocide, the immediate release of Armenian prisoners, the right to safe return for the people of Artsakh, and the protection of Armenian cultural heritage.”  “They will not silence us. They couldn’t 111 years ago. They couldn’t silence the diaspora. They couldn’t silence us in Artsakh. And they won’t be able to silence us now,” the statement continued. “Our struggle will not end until there is justice.” The event closed with a performance by La Banda del Arzru, a group of young musicians from Arzruni Armenian School, who performed traditional Armenian songs. Earlier that morning, a religious ceremony was held at St. Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral, followed by the official commemoration organized by the Armenian Institutions of the Argentine Republic (IARA), the umbrella organization for Armenian institutions in Argentina. Students from Armenian schools, local officials, members of the diplomatic corps, community leaders and religious figures attended. Armenian Ambassador to Argentina Hovhannes Virabyan said, “April 24 is not simply a date; it is a symbol of our pain, our loss, but also of our dignity and our rebirth.” He recalled that “in 1915, the Armenian Genocide claimed the lives of 1.5 million people — men, women, children and the elderly — who were condemned to death solely for being Armenian.” Pablo Sismanian, president of IARA and a member of ARF, said, “April 24 is not only a day of remembrance; it is a day of awareness, a day of responsibility and a day of commitment.”  Click to view slideshow. Linking historical memory to the present, he said, “In 2023, the Armenian people of Artsakh were victims of ethnic cleansing that forced more than 100,000 people to abandon their ancestral homes.” Sismanian also highlighted the meaning of the Artsakh flag in community life. “Keeping the flag of Artsakh flying high in our community is an affirmation of identity, dignity and resistance in the face of injustice,” he said.  The flag of Artsakh during the march in Buenos Aires Seeing a young man carrying the flag of the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), he added, to applause: “It fills me with pride, but also with a sense of responsibility. From our institutions, in every act, in every commemoration, in every celebration, we must continue to raise the flag of Artsakh because it represents our struggle.” The moment came amid a campaign launched months earlier by ARF youth under the slogan “Let’s not lower the flag,” encouraging the continued presence of the Artsakh flag at Armenian events and activities. A message from the Argentine President Javier Milei was also read during the ceremony. “In the context of the commemoration of April 24, the day on which the Armenian genocide is remembered, the presidency of the Argentine Nation accompanies the Armenian community on this day of remembrance and reflection. In commemorating this date, we reaffirm our commitment to memory, truth and respect among peoples as fundamental values for coexistence and the construction of a more just society,” he said.  Lilia Lemoine, a national deputy and president of the Argentina-Armenia Friendship Group, also addressed the commemoration: “Armenia is the oldest Christian country in the world and, in my view, represents the very heart of Christianity,” she said. “Knowing that it is being attacked by accomplices of those who perpetrated the 1915 genocide and repeated it in 2020 is a silence that frightens and worries me.” Jrimian School signed an agreement with the local government to produce educational material about the genocide Several blood drives were organized by the ARS and Jrimian Armenian School in Buenos Aires and Córdoba. Jrimian Armenian School also signed a collaboration agreement with the municipality of Lanus to develop teacher training programs, educational materials and collaborative spaces aimed at strengthening the dissemination and preservation of Armenian culture. In the days leading up to April 24, Racing Club and Independiente, two of Argentina’s major football (soccer) clubs, commemorated the Armenian Genocide with banners during their matches, continuing a tradition in which clubs from the country’s most popular sport publicly honor the memory of the victims.   Click to view slideshow. In Buenos Aires, the photographic exhibition “The Gaze of Farewell” by Araz Hadjian, with an artistic intervention by Alejandra Sarkissian, was presented at the Buenos Aires City Legislature. The exhibition featured photographs of Artsakh refugees fleeing during the ethnic cleansing of 2023. The anniversary was also commemorated in Mar del Plata, La Plata, Berisso, Vicente López and Tigre. In Córdoba, the Armenian community held a public commemoration at Plaza San Martín. Jhon Boretto, rector of the National University of Córdoba, delivered the main address. He described the Armenian Genocide as “an open wound in the world’s conscience” and called for renewed commitment to “truth and justice in the face of denial and cruelty.”  A formal ceremony was also held at the auditorium of the Bicentennial Civic Center Brigadier General Juan Bautista Bustos. Another event, titled “Armenian and Argentine Genocide: Memory as Resistance,” was scheduled at the Faculty of Law of the National University of Córdoba, with speakers Mariano Saravia, Ramiro Fresneda and Nayet Kademian. In Rosario, the Armenian Studies chair of the National University of Rosario organized film screenings and educational activities. The main commemoration took place at the “Forget-Me-Not” Memorial, located at Dorrego and the river, and included the premiere of the micro-documentary “From Ararat to the Paraná: Infinite Memories,” declared to be of cultural and historical interest. Uruguay In Uruguay, commemorations began with a strong cultural component. The exhibition “The Familiar Voice: Gomidas Vartabed and the Rebirth of Armenian Music” opened at the Museum of Mobility and Identities (MUMI), with an unexpected appearance by Argentine musician Leon Gieco. He joined Alin Demirdjian to perform “Golondrinas,” a song they presented in 2025 to commemorate the 110th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Leon Gieco and Alin Demirdjian at the Komitas Vardapet exhibition, Uruguay. Photo by Laura Sosa “We are a communion of struggle, a communion that fights for memory, for hope and for peace,” Gieco said. Referring to Gomidas, he added, “I am a disciple of Violeta Parra, I studied with Leda Valladares, and I compiled a collection of Argentine folk music,” drawing a parallel between his own work documenting popular music and Gomidas’ preservation of Armenian musical memory.  The exhibition, organized by MUMI and Audicion Gomidas, explores the life and legacy of Gomidas, the priest, composer, musicologist and central figure in the preservation of Armenian music. The opening included performances by Alin Demirdjian, the Grung Polyphonic Choir of the AGBU, the Nersesian College Choir and the Shiraz Armenian Dance Ensemble of Hamazkayin. Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi participated April 20 in a ceremony commemorating the Armenian Genocide at the Harmony Church in the La Teja neighborhood of Montevideo, where national authorities and community representatives honored the victims and highlighted Uruguay’s historic role in recognizing the genocide. Academic ceremony commemorating the Armenian Genocide was held at the Legislative Palace in Montevideo. Photo by Laura Sosa On April 22, an academic ceremony commemorating the Armenian Genocide was held at the Legislative Palace in Montevideo. The event has been jointly organized for 25 years by the speaker of the House of Representatives and the Armenian National Committee (ANC) of Uruguay. The ceremony featured Speaker of the House Dr. Rodrigo Goñi, Foreign Minister Mario Lubetkin, journalist and poet Roberto Lopez Belloso, and Dr. Karine Dermarkarian on behalf of the Armenian Cause Council of Uruguay, while Vice President Carolina Cosse sent a message of support. Armenian Ambassador to Uruguay Mariam Gevorgyan, legislators, diplomats, religious leaders and members of the Armenian community were also present.  Goñi said the commemoration must contribute to ensuring that such crimes “never happen again” and called for “a commitment to Never Again and to the vindication of the territorial and political rights that the Armenian people possess but have been unable to exercise.”  Foreign Minister Lubetkin said, “We are gathered here because of the weight of a memory that no longer belongs solely to one people, but to the ethical and moral conscience of Uruguay as a state and as a nation.” He added that for Uruguayans, April 24 is not only a date for the Armenian diaspora, but “a reaffirmation of our national identity as a land of refuge and justice.” Lubetkin also addressed current Armenian concerns, saying Uruguayan foreign policy “encourages the protection of human rights guarantees and the security of all Armenians, including those who have suffered displacement and deprivation of liberty.”  López Belloso focused on denial as a central element of Turkish foreign policy, saying that “the effects of past crimes continue into the present, not only because they are imprescriptible but also because they are part of a denialism that reflects a web of current interests.”  Dermarkarian, representing the ANC of Uruguay, denounced the vulnerability of Armenia to pressure and attacks by Turkey and Azerbaijan. She also defended Uruguay’s historic role in the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide, recalling Law 13.326, the pioneering 1965 law through which Uruguay became the first country in the world to recognize the Armenian Genocide. On April 24, Armenian Youth of Uruguay demonstrated at the Turkish Embassy under the slogan “The Truth Doesn’t Change: Memory, Justice and Reparation.” The embassy, formerly located in Plaza Matriz, began relocating to the Carrasco neighborhood during the week of the Armenian Genocide commemoration.  At the embassy demonstration, participants displayed the flags of Armenia and Artsakh, sang the national anthems of Armenia and Artsakh, and read testimonies from survivors, including Aurora Mardiganian and Lucine Khatcherian. “Why are we still here every April 24? Because the truth doesn’t change. It doesn’t change even after 111 years. It doesn’t change even if it’s denied, relativized, or attempts are made to erase it,” the youth proclamation stated. The statement connected denial to the present: “When there is no justice, violence is repeated. When there is denial, there is continuity.” It concluded, “As long as there is memory, there is resistance. As long as there is unjust justice, there is struggle. And as long as there is an Armenian anywhere in the world, the truth will live on.” Chile In Chile, Congressman Cristian Araya addressed the Chamber of Deputies on April 22, just days before the anniversary. “The Armenian Genocide began on April 24, 1915. A systematic process of persecution and murder of the Christian Armenian population within the Ottoman Empire,” Araya said. He described the genocide as “the first genocide of the modern era” and said it set a precedent for later crimes, including those committed by Nazi Germany during World War II.  “From Chile, just days before the commemoration of this tragedy, and thinking of the victims and the entire Armenian community in the diaspora, I send fraternal greetings and our support in their just cause for justice,” Araya said. “We are very clear in our country that the victims of this genocide cannot be forgotten.” The Armenian community in Chile also held a Mass at the Holy Virgin Mary Orthodox Church and a community lunch at Haydun, the Armenian house in Santiago. Brazil In São Paulo, the Legislative Assembly of the State of São Paulo held an ecumenical event April 24 in the Monumental Hall, followed by a solemn session in the Juscelino Kubitschek Plenary in memory of the 1.5 million Armenian martyrs of the 1915 genocide. In Rio de Janeiro, City Hall held a solemn session on April 22 in the Teotônio Villela Plenary Hall to honor the victims of the Armenian Genocide. The event was organized by Councilor Pedro Duarte together with the Armenian Diaspora Affairs Commission in Brazil. Held under the motto “Pax in Mundo” (Peace in the World), the ceremony was presided over by Councilor Marcos Dias and brought together community, religious and diplomatic leaders. Participants included Aram Mardirossian, president of the Monte Ararat Association; Abraham Kuladian; Yuri Kebian; Bishop Theodore of the Antiochian Orthodox Church; the consuls of France and Egypt; and engineer Francis Boghossian. The ceremony focused on the importance of historical recognition and remembrance within the framework of the 111th anniversary commemorations. Armenian community leaders reflect on the commemorations Federico Waneskahian, a member of the Armenian National Committee of Uruguay, emphasized the strong political support shown in Montevideo. “The commemorative events in Uruguay saw strong participation from the Armenian community and the country’s leading political figures, demonstrating that defending the Armenian Cause remains a priority in Uruguay, despite the intense campaign against it,” he told the Weekly. “The Uruguayan foreign minister himself stated in his address at the ceremony held in the Legislative Palace, and later on national radio and television, that Uruguay ‘encourages the protection and guarantees of the human rights and security of all the Armenian people, including those who have been displaced and imprisoned,’ a clear message for anyone promoting the contrary,” Waneskahian added. Aram Mouratian, executive director of the Armenian National Committee of South America (ANC-SA), said the region “is focusing its efforts on breaking the wall of silence surrounding the Artsakh crisis.” “Through a strong presence in the media and at the parliamentary level, we have drawn urgent attention to the plight of hostages and the ongoing ethnic cleansing, recognizing these as part of the same historical process that began in 1915. Furthermore, given the immediate threats facing the Republic of Armenia and the people of Artsakh, it is of utmost importance that the diaspora remains organized around a clear, unified message and puts forward firm and concrete demands on these critical issues.” Hagop Tabakian, president of the Armenian National Committee of South America told the Weekly that this year’s commemorations took place in “turbulent times,” in which denial of the genocide resonates not only in the state policies of Turkey and Azerbaijan, but also, he argued, “in the Armenian government, which speaks of forgetfulness dialogue instead of justice, of looking to the future rather than demanding redress for the crimes suffered, both in 1915 and in 2023.” “In Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Montevideo, São Paulo, Santiago de Chile, among other cities, the words of vindication and the determination not to retreat an inch in the recognition achieved resonated deeply, redoubling their efforts to bring visibility to what happened in 2023 with the Republic of Artsakh and its current situation,” Tabakian said. “From 1915 to 1923, and again in 2023, the Armenian people, at different times, were victims of the same extermination plan, perpetrated by the same perpetrators and with the same impunity,” he added. “The survivors and their descendants respond in every corner of the diaspora with the same sustained and tireless struggle.” The post Artsakh flag raised during genocide commemorations in South America appeared first on The Armenian Weekly.