February 28, 2013
On the occasion of the 25th Anniversary of the Karabagh Movement, a commemorative program was organized on Friday, February 22nd by the Armenian General Benevolent Union at the Alex Manoogian Cultural Centre in Toronto. The Master of Ceremonies, Jivan Stepanian, first invited the Honourable Jim Karygiannis, Liberal Member of Parliament, Scarborough-Agincourt for his remarks. Mr. Karygiannis, who had visited Nagorno Karabagh Republic (NKR), in July 2012, as a Canadian Parliamentarian and as an international observer during the presidential elections, talked about his memorable experiences in Karabagh while commenting on and emphasizing the orderly conduct of the elections.
Next the MC introduced Migirdic Migirdicyan, the lecturer of the evening. Mr. Migirdicyan kicked-off his program by reciting a portion of the epic poem “This is Karabagh”, by Vazken Ovyan of Artsakh. Followed by the letter by His Excellency, Bako Sahakyan, the President of NKR, which was sent on the occasion of the 25th Anniversary containing an eloquent message addressed to the Toronto Armenians about the victory and the independence. Mr. Migirdicyan started his lecture which was a very detailed presentation of the history of Artsakh, while specifically focusing in the period between 1988 and 1994; the six years which changed the Armenian World. In addition to the narrative, the presentation included rare photographs and video clips of the Karabagh Movement and its players and heroes. The presentation was based on documentary evidence, from British, Canadian, Czech and Armenian sources, as well as his numerous visits to Artsakh and his personal interviews with the local leaders since the beginning of the independence of NKR, September 2, 1991.
A question and answer period followed where the audience members had the opportunity to further discuss the subject matter. The evening was concluded by Rev. Archpriest Fr. Zareh Zargarian’s closing prayers for all Armenians.
