| 1965 Yerevan demonstrations | |||||||||
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| Demonstrations in Freedom Square. | |||||||||
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The 1965 Yerevan demonstrations were a 24 hour protest in Yerevan, Armenian SSR on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. It is said that this event constitutes the first step in the struggle for the recognition of the Armenian Genocide of 1915.[1]
On April 24, 1965, for the first time for any such demonstration in the entire Soviet Union, from 30,000 to 400,000[2] protesters held a 24-hour demonstration in front of the Opera House on the 50th anniversary of the commencement of the Armenian Genocide, and demanded that the Soviet Union government officially recognize the Armenian Genocide committed by the Young Turks in the Ottoman Empire, and build a memorial in Armenia's capital city of Yerevan to perpetuate the memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide.
The posters said "Just solution to the Armenian question" and other patriotic/nationalistic slogans concerning Western Armenia, Karabakh and Nakhichevan.[2]
To the shouts of "our land, our lands" the major demonstration marked the first public awakening of the Armenian consciousness in Soviet Armenia. The Kremlin taking into account the demands of the demonstraters, commissioned a memorial for the genocide. The memorial, on Tsitsernakaberd hill, was completed in 1967.
Following the example of this demonstration, similar protests were made throughout the world, in whichever country the Armenian Diaspora exists. Since the day of the protests, Armenians (and other Soviets as well) to this day visit the memorial and make protests around the world to gain acceptance of the Armenian Genocide by Turkey.