DENVER, CO— On Friday, April 22, 2016, community members and activists from across Colorado will join the Colorado State Legislature, the Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region (ANCA-WR), and Armenians of Colorado in commemorating the 100+1 Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide at the State Capitol in Denver.  On the same day, the ANCA-WR will host its CO Advocacy Day, which will include meeting opportunities with state legislators and events around the capitol.

“We are pleased to offer this platform for our resilient community in Colorado to directly connect with their representatives   With Artsakh’s security on the line and Aliyev’s continued uncontrollable hatred and drive for a regional war, it’s ever more critical that voices for peace hold Azerbaijan accountable for its war crimes and continued ceasefire violations,” said Elen Asatryan, Executive Director of ANCA-Western Region.

““The goal of our advocacy day is to both educate our legislators about issues of importance to the Armenian-American community and to energize our grassroots to return to their home communities, emboldened with greater knowledge and skill set to remain civically engaged in pursuit of our collective cause and the development of our communities.  We encourage community members of all ages from across the state to register and join us as we commemorate the 100+1 Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide and bring the Armenian Cause to the Colorado State Capitol,” she added.

The day’s activities will include community briefings, Armenian Genocide Commemoration ceremonies on the house and senate floors, and meeting with state legislators and administrators.  During the meetings, participants will educate their representatives on Artsakh, the proud chapter in Colorado’s history that helped save the Armenian nation from annihilation during the Armenian Genocide and advocate for issues of importance to the Armenian-American community including the devastating war crimes being committed by Azerbaijan in Artsakh and Artsakh’s right to self-determination.

Community members are invited to register on the ANCA Western Region website at www.ancawr.org/COAdvocacyDay .  For more information email simon@ancawr.org or call 818.862.2622.  To learn more about ANCA-WR visit ancawr.org or follow us on Facebook: ANCA Western Region, Instagram and Twitter ANCA_WR

The following Sunday, on April 24, the 100+1 anniversary of the Armenian Genocide will be commemorated at 12:30PM at the Armenian Memorial Garden on ColoradoState Capitol grounds, to be followed by a joint church service by the Western Prelacy and Diocese Armenian churches at the First Baptist Church of Denver. Since 1982, Armenians of Colorado (AOC) has held annual commemorations on capitol grounds.

“Last year, on the Centennial anniversary, Gov. John Hickenlooper joined AOC leaders and community members in unveiling America’s first capitol khachkar – a replica of one of the 2,000 medieval Djulfa headstones destroyed by Azerbaijan in 2005 – in memory of the victims of all crimes against humanity. Unfortunately, this year’s commemoration will include new victims such as the elderly Armenian civilians of Talish, Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, against whom Azerbaijan’s forces committed war crimes during the four-day war of early April 2016,” remarked Sona Hedeshian, president of the AOC Board.

The Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region is the largest and most influential Armenian American grassroots advocacy organization in the Western United States. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the Western United States and affiliated organizations around the country, the ANCA-WR advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues. ###