Posted 4/24/14 – Sierra Madre City Council Mayor Pro Tem John Harabedian presented a proclamation commemorating the April 24th 99th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide at the April 22nd City Council meeting. The proclamation was presented to Raffi Kassabian and Shoghig Yepremian of the Armenian National Committee of America. The video below includes Harabedian’s reading of the proclamation, and Kassabian’s impassioned acceptance. The proclamation by the City Council was one of several area events planned this week commemorating the 100th anniversary of the killing of 1.5 million Armenians over a 3 year period which began in April of 1915. This morning in Pasadena, the City of Pasadena remembered the anniversary in conjunction with several Armenian groups, as well as local schools and churches. On Sunday, the ground at the site for the Pasadena Armenian Genocide Memorial will be blessed during a 6 p.m. public ceremony at Memorial Park in Pasadena. The Pasadena City Council approved the memorial in 2013, and it is expected to be ready to open in time for the 100th anniversary in April of 2015.