Thousands in Los Angeles expected for march commemorating 102nd anniversary of Armenian genocide
Tens of thousands are expected to march and rally outside the Turkish Consulate on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles, California on Monday to commemorate the 102nd anniversary of the Armenian genocide, The Los Angeles Times reported.
According to the source, the 1.5-mile march — which drew an estimated 60,000 people last year — is scheduled to begin at noon at Pan Pacific Park at 7600 Beverly Blvd. and end outside the Turkish Consulate at 6300 Wilshire Blvd., according to the Los Angeles Department of Transportation.
Road closures, delays and congestion are expected in the surrounding areas, according to the city.
Among the speakers scheduled are Mayor Eric Garcetti, California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank), according to the Armenian Genocide Committee, the coalition that organized the march.
The source reminds that Schiff and U.S. Rep. Dave Trott (R-Michigan) last month introduced a resolution asking Congress to formally recognize the genocide.
"Over 100 years ago, the Ottoman Empire undertook a brutal campaign of murder, rape, and displacement against the Armenian people that took the lives of 1.5 million men, women, and children in the first genocide of the 20th century," Schiff said in a statement. "Genocide is not a historic relic — even today hundreds of thousands of religious minorities face existential threat from ISIS in Syria and Iraq. It is therefore all the more pressing that the Congress recognize the historical fact of the Armenian Genocide and stand against modern day genocide and crimes against humanity."
Last year, Glendale Unified became the first school district in the country to establish a day in remembrance of the genocide. In 2015, Los Angeles officials designated the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Western Avenue as Armenian Genocide Memorial Square.