MOUSA LER MONUMENT’S OPENING CEREMONY IN FRESNO
Fresno — The Armenian community of Fresno, California, gathered at the Masis Ararat Cemetery for the official opening of the Mousa Ler monument. The event was organized by the Mousa Ler Association of Fresno. The Diocesan Primate Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, officiated the religious service during the opening ceremony.
The monument has been built in honor of the 18 martyrs who gave their lives to save the region of Mousa Ler, a region that consisted of six villages, from the Ottoman Turks during the Armenian Genocide. The battle at Mousa Ler was a significant resistance effort as 600 Armenian fighters and 4,000 civilians were able to fend off 19,000 Turkish troops.
The leaders of the resistance were Movses Derkalousdian, Reverend Dikran Antreassian, Yesayi Yakhubian, Nerses Kazandjian, and Yesayi Aprahamian. Although small in numbers, the villages of Mousa Ler successfully resisted the Turks for 53 days. They were eventually rescued in 1915 by the French navy and delivered to safety at Port Said in Egypt. In 1918, the province came under French control, and the Armenian villagers returned to the Mousa Ler region. However, in 1939, the province was given back to Turkey, and most of the villagers fled to Anjar, Lebanon. Anjar is a small town that is today divided into six districts commemorating each of the villages of Mousa Ler.
