Memorial to House Genocide Relics from Der Zor

STEPANAKERT (A.W.)—In mid-April, the Nagorno-Karabagh Republic (NKR) will unveil its Armenian Genocide Monument in Stepanakert. Speaking to Armenpress, David Babayan, the spokesperson for NKR (Artsakh) President Bako Sahakyan, stressed the importance of having an official memorial in Artsakh’s capital. “The bell tower-monument is a unique structure and will become the most important memorial which is dedicated to the Centenary of the Armenian Genocide,” said Babayan.

Babayan also announced that relics from Der Zor, Syria, will be added to the foundation of the bell-tower monument. “The relics brought from Der Zor will be buried in the foundation of the bell tower. [The relics] were given to us by the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute. The bell tower will become a place where the people of Artsakh will come and pay tribute,” he said.

Terrorists destroyed the Armenian Genocide Memorial Church in Der Zor—considered the Auschwitz of the Armenian Genocide—in 2014; the Armenian Weekly reported the story on Sept. 21, 2014. Hundreds of thousands of Armenians were marched to and perished in Der Zor and the surrounding desert during the genocide. The memorial church housed their remains.

In an exclusive interview with the Armenian Weekly in January, Artak Beglaryan, spokesperson for NKR Prime Minister Arayik Harutyunyan, discussed the progress on the monument and plans to commemorate the Armenian Genocide Centennial in Artsakh. Beglaryan said several commemorative events would be taking place in the country on a state level, including exhibitions, conferences, and concerts, adding that “Artsakh’s population is part of the Armenian world; it will join the commemorative initiatives and efforts around the globe.”