In remembrance of 100 years since the Armenian Genocide, professors from four different universities spoke out against denial of the genocide as part of “Denial and Memory,” a conference held at the Northwestern University campus in Evanston, Illinois, USA, reported The Daily Northwestern.

Held by the Buffett Institute of Global Studies’ Keyman Modern Turkish Studies, history Prof. Ipek Yosmaoğlu introduced the event to the audience.

“Denial of violence is even more serious,” said Yosmaoğlu. “The most terrible thing is not about the suffering, but the erasure of its memory.”

Kerem Ӧktem, a professor at the University of Graz in Austria, discussed memory versus recognition of the genocide and ideas like the Turkish government’s denial of the genocide.

“Denialists are losing ground,” he stressed.

Barbara Lyons, an Evanston resident who was at the event, said she is interested in the topic of the Middle East and the Armenian Genocide.

“The destruction of Armenian culture is what surprised me,” she said. “They didn’t just get rid of the Armenians, they wanted to get rid of remembering they were there.”