1965 Yerevan demonstrations

The protests in Yerevan took place on 24 April 1965, and the 50th anniversary of the genocide of the Armenians in Yerevan, the capital of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic in the former Soviet Union. The goal of the demonstrations was the recognition of the genocide of 1915. Viewed The protests will be the first step in the fight for recovery from genocide.

On this day, gathered for the first time in the history of the Soviet Union more than 100,000 protesters, and held a 24 -hour demonstration in front of the Opera House from commemorating the 50th anniversary of the genocide in the Ottoman Empire and demanded by the Soviet government's official recognition of the perpetrated by the young Turks crime and the building of a memorial in the capital of Armenia.

The April 24, 1915 was the day on which the Ottoman government began mass arrests of the Armenian elite. The posters of 1965 were nationalist slogans such as " righteous solution of the Armenian question " concerning Western Armenia, Karabakh and Nakhichevan to read.

With the call " our country, our countries" marked the main demonstration, the first public awakening of the Armenian self-consciousness in Soviet Armenia. The government of the Soviet Union took note of the concerns of the protesters and gave a memorial for the genocide in order. The memorial Tsitsernakaberd was completed in 1967.

Following the example of this demonstration made ​​similar protests in the Armenian diaspora throughout the world. The April 24, has since been celebrated as genocide memorial day. Since the day of the protests visit Armenians and others that place to this day, in order to achieve an end to the denial of the Armenian genocide by Turkey.