Nagorno-Karabakh youth holds torchlight march in memory of victims of Armenian Genocide

In the evening on April 23, Stepanakert, the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh, hosted a torchlight march and a rally to commemorate the victims of the genocide of Armenians committed in the Ottoman Empire.

During the march, young people demanded that Turkey apologized to the Armenian people, that all countries recognized the Armenian genocide and that the international community gave due recognition to all the atrocities committed against the Armenian people.

According to the policemen who ensured safety, the action attracted over 5000 students and senior schoolchildren. According to activists of the youth wing of the ARF "Dashnaktsutyun", the march was attended by young people from all over the country.

"We hired buses, so that young people could come to Stepanakert. They gathered in the regional centre of Askeran from all the regions of the republic; and from there they went to the capital to join us," said a source from the "Dashnaktsutyun".

Armenians shall not forget about the genocide, believes Arevik Sarkisyan, a history teacher from the village of Oratakh, Martakert District.

David Petrosyan, a sixteen-year-old student from Askeran, said that for him the participation in the march was of principle.

"I'm sure that we must not remain silent. My generation should demand that the genocide was recognized by the whole world. And we must not allow this to happen again in the future," said the schoolboy.

Residents of Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh and members of Armenian Diasporas in many countries traditionally mark April 24 as the Day of Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire in 1915-1923.