VIDEO. Flowers Laid Near the Eternal Flame Checked Before State Officials' Visit

Today marks the 108th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Every year on April 24, hundreds of thousands of Armenians quietly march towards the Armenian Genocide Memorial to lay flowers in memory of the 1.5 million victims. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and other high-ranking officials paid their respects to the victims of the Armenian Genocide.

During this time, the Special State Protection Service employees are working under heightened security measures at the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex. In a video released by MediaHub, a service employee is seen checking the flowers laid near the Eternal Flame with a scanner for security reasons.

This year marks the 108th anniversary of the 1915 Armenian Genocide. While April 24 is considered the day of commemoration for the victims of the Armenian Genocide, the massacres of Armenians began as early as the late 19th century. From 1892 to 1923, the ruling authorities of Turkey, initially under Hamidian rule and later under the Young Turks, orchestrated a genocide that led to the mass deportation and extermination of the Armenian population in Western Armenia, Cilicia, and areas of the Ottoman Empire. On April 24, 1915, based on orders from Turkish authorities, more than two hundred Armenian intellectuals, including writers, musicians, publicists, lawyers, doctors, and parliamentarians, were arrested in Constantinople. They were all exiled and brutally killed.

On April 24, 1965, protests were organized in Soviet Armenia, demanding recognition of the Armenian Genocide. Each year, on April 24, hundreds of thousands of Armenians silently march to the Armenian Genocide Memorial to honor the memory of the 1.5 million victims.