Remembering the Dead

Araz Bedross is a program assistant at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut. Recently, she succeeded in persuading Lebanese parliamentarians to present draft legislation to parliament that would set aside April 24 as a day to commemorate the Armenian Genocide of 1915, as well as other cases of mass deaths that have occurred in the region. Bedross’ efforts were complicated by the fact that there is an increasingly vocal pro-Turkish constituency in Lebanon that has actively sought to oppose Armenian efforts to commemorate their genocide. Diwan interviewed Bedross in late July to ask her about her campaign, those who tried to derail it, and what her expectations were for the legislation she helped to push in parliament.