On Thursday a group gathered outside Greenwich Town Hall to commemorate the lives lost in the Armenian Genocide and celebrate the resilience of people who thrive and contribute to societies around the world despite having endured such hardship and pain.
On April 24, 1915, the Ottoman Empire began its systematic genocide of Armenian people.
The Armenian Genocide, which continued until 1923, remains one of the most tragic and heartbreaking chapters in human history.
An estimated 1.5 million Armenians lost their lives through systemic violence, forced deportation, starvation and massacres at the hands of the Ottoman Empire. Families were torn apart and communities destroyed.
The first speaker on Thursday was Greenwich native, Hagar Hajjar Chemali, who served as the Director for Syria and Lebanon at the National Security Council at the White House from 2010 to 2012. Today she is CEO of a communications consultancy firm, Greenwich Media Strategies.
Hagar Hajjar Chemali addressed the gathering outside Greenwich Town Hall for a flag raising and commemoration of the Armenian Genocide. April 24, 2025 Photo: Leslie Yager
Chemali said she had always felt strongly about identifying and punishing the perpetrators of genocide in general.
“My story starts with my parents. They came here to Greenwich fleeing the civil war in Lebanon after my dad had been kidnapped and brutally beaten.”
Chemali said she was grateful for the many opportunities she had growing up in Greenwich and was inspired by her parents to fight injustice.
“I worked twice on campaigns pushing the US Presidents at the time – President Trump in his first administration and then President Biden – to declare and recognize the Armenian Genocide,” she recalled.
She explained that the Biden administration had recognized the genocide, which was critically important to prevent future genocides.
However, she said, even after the declaration, in 2023, Azerbaijan blockaded the Armenian enclave of Artsakh in Nagorno-Karabakh for months, ultimately forcing 120,000 Armenians to flee to Armenia.
“That’s why commemorations like this are so important – because it raises awareness of the persistent threats that the Armenian community continue to face,” she said.
Van Krikorian, co-chair of the Armenian Assembly of America, addressed gathering outside Greenwich Town Hall to mark the memory of the Armenian Genocide that took place between 1915 and 1923. Since 2003 Krikorian has been an adjunct law professor at Pace University Law School teaching international trade law, anti-trust, international arbitration, conflict of laws, and international business transactions. He was a member of the George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs board of advisors from 2006 to 2016. He has maintained his law practice since 2007 while working as Chairman and CEO of Global Gold Corporation, an international exploration and mining company he joined in 2003. April 24, 2025 Photo: Leslie Yager
The second speaker was Van Krikorian, co-chair of the Armenian Assembly of America.
Krikorian noted the Armenian Genocide was the earliest instance of the use of the term “crimes against humanity.” The term was later formally defined after World War II.
“We, as survivors and descendants of survivors have a lot to be proud of – for the way victims would have wanted – to remember them and speak for them, and for all victims,” Krikorian said. “But also for the way we rebuilt our lives in the countries we found ourselves in all over the world.”
He said while April 24 was a day of deep faith and a day of pride, there were constant reminders of victims of genocide and ethnic cleansing around the world.
In 2023, the blockade, starvation and exodus from Nagorno-Karabakh took place after the US and European Union’s inaction emboldened Azerbaijan.
Krikorian described sham trials that continue today, and recalled his testimony last September before the Congressional Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission.
“I described how one person who was convicted said in Armenian, ‘I was not in Nagorno-Karabakh when these crimes took place. I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ and the official translator in the transcript said, ‘He apologizes for his role in killing these people,’ and they gave him 15 years, just like that.”
Krikorian said he’d noticed the poster in the Greenwich Town Hall lobby featuring a list of organizations pledging to be part of the YWCA Greenwich’s Stand Against Racism.
“Bullying, racism, prejudice – those are the themes that lead to dehumanization, and then if it gets to a certain level, genocide. And that’s something else we have to recommit ourselves to preventing,” Krikorian said.
First Selectman Fred Camillo read a proclamation that said in part, “It is our collective responsibility to honor the memory of all those who perished and to recognize the profound impact of the Armenian Genocide on global history and the Armenian community, ensuring that their legacy is never forgotten.”
Camillo declared Thursday, April 24, 2025, “A Day of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide.”
Gathering outside Greenwich Town Hall marked the memory of the Armenian Genocide that took place between 1915 and 1923 included State Rep Steve Meskers (D-150) and Greg Zorthian of the RTM. April 24, 2025 Photo: Leslie Yager
Gathering outside Greenwich Town Hall marked the memory of the Armenian Genocide that took place between 1915 and 1923. April 24, 2025 Photo: Leslie Yager
Gathering outside Greenwich Town Hall marked the memory of the Armenian Genocide that took place between 1915 and 1923. April 24, 2025 Photo: Leslie Yager