The City of Irvine voted unanimously Feb. 28 to dedicate a space in its Great Park for a memorial in remembrance of the Armenian Genocide of the early 1900s.
A presentation by city staff suggested its location could potentially be in the “heart of the park” neighboring a lake, the Great Meadow, and surrounding open spaces to provide “a space of solemn reflection.”
The idea was first requested by Vice Mayor Tammy Kim, who said that “working hand in hand with the community,” on the memorial’s design would be important in the process.
“This needs to be community-led, because the community knows what it needs,” she said.
Councilman Larry Agran said with the memorial being the first at the park, extra planning should be done to pave the way for potentially others in the future.
“Communities are going to come forward and they’re going to ask for recognition and a place in our Great Park … we need to be prepared for that,” he said.
One Irvine resident, who said he is a US Navy veteran, son of a genocide survivor, and retired from law enforcement said during the meeting the memorial could become a gathering place for the Armenian community.
“Every April 24 the Armenian community throughout the United States remembers their ancestral members,” he said. “If there’s hope that we can get together at this site … we will owe the city council a big thank you.”
Armenians worldwide honor Genocide Remembrance Day on April 24.
Now with the council’s approval, city staff will coordinate with local representatives of the Armenian-American community to “gather feedback on a conceptual design.”
The project’s Environmental Impact Report is slated to be completed this summer and presented to the Great Park Board and city council this fall, officials said.
The Orange County Board of Supervisors also acted Feb. 28 to support the Armenian community by adopting a resolution to “Support Armenian Human Rights and End the Blockade of the Lachin Corridor.”
According to media reports, on December 12, 2022, citizens from the country of Azerbaijan—located adjacent to Armenia—were sent by their government under the guise of “eco-activists” to blockade what’s known as the Lachin Corridor.
The corridor is the only route of travel for the predominantly Armenian-populated Artsakh region of Azerbaijan to the rest of the outside world. Residents there, reportedly, have been without food for nearly 90 days.
Supervisor Katrina Foley compared the blockade to disconnecting Costa Mesa from the rest of the county.
“Think about if everyone in Costa Mesa was suddenly stuck there and unable to leave, unable to buy groceries, get food, water [or] medicine,” she said. “That’s the crisis. The Armenian people are suffering.”
In April of 1915, the Ottoman government set out to decimate its civilian Armenian population according to the Armenian National Institute, a Washington D.C.-based organization that researches the genocide.
“The persecutions continued with varying intensity until 1923 when the Ottoman Empire ceased to exist and was replaced by the Republic of Turkey,” according to the institute.
In 1915, the Armenian population there was reportedly 2 million. Authorities estimate 1 million were killed by 1918.
