Peter Gabriel Stresses Importance of Armenian Genocide Recognition
WATERTOWN, Mass. (A.W.)—In an interview that appeared in the March 2009 issue of Conde Nast Traveler, world-renowned musician and songwriter Peter Gabriel talks about the importance of the recognition of the Armenian Genocide.
Asked by interviewer Dorintha Elliott about the best places to travel for music, Gabriel said, “I had a house in Senegal and music was a big reason. And when I did music for ‘The Last temptation of Christ,’ I was introduced to one of the most soulful instruments, the Armenian duduk. I went to
Armenia for the birthday of duduk player Djivan Kasparyan. We visited the Genocide Memorial, which is dedicated to the more than one million Armenians who died in 1915.”
He added, “The Turks deny the genocide, and Britain and the United States haven’t properly acknowledged it. I hope that happens. As with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa, you need to air issues and accept what happened in the past before you are free to move on.”
Gabriel, 59, has won Grammy Awards in 1989, 1992, 1993, 1995, and 2008 for his work. He received the Nobel Peace Laureates’ Man of Peace Award in 2006 and was named Amnesty International’s Ambassador of Conscience in 2008.
Also in 2008, Time magazine chose him as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.