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Armenians to commemorate 1915 ‘genocide’ centenary

In this picture taken on April 24, 2008 Armenians lay flowers during a memorial service marking the 93rd anniversary of the 1915 killings of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire, in Yerevan. © AFP

People in Armenia are preparing to mark the 100th anniversary of the 1915 killing of Armenians by the Ottoman forces as controversy over the issue lingers in Turkey.

Hundreds of thousands are expected to participate in the ceremony in the Armenian capital, Yerevan, on Friday. Similar memorials are also scheduled to be held around the world by Armenians in diaspora.

Armenians claim up to 1.5 million Armenian Christians were systematically slaughtered in eastern Turkey through mass killings, forced relocations and starvation, a process that began in 1915 and took place over several years during World War I and the breakup of the Ottoman Empire.

Ankara, however, rejects the term “genocide” and says 300,000 to 500,000 Armenians, and at least as many Turks perished between 1915 and 1917, and they were the casualties of World War I. 

President Serzh Sarkisian, meanwhile, has said Armenians will use the planned anniversary to remind the world of the struggle to recognize the massacre as genocide.

A picture released by the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute dated 1915 purportedly shows soldiers standing over skulls of victims from the Armenian village of Sheyxalan in the Mush valley, on the Caucasus front during the First World War. © AFP

 

“This is an important date for the Armenian people and international community not only to look back and think over historical facts but to say 'never again',” he said in a recent speech.

Turkey, for its part, is set to hold a major event for the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Gallipoli, usually marked on April 25, on Friday, in a move that has drawn the ire of Armenia, which has described the event as an effort to divert attention from what they call their genocide commemorations.

Flare-up of tensions

Earlier this month, tensions about the killings rose again after Pope Francis in controversial remarks during a Sunday solemn mass in Saint Peter’s Basilica used the word “genocide” to describe the massacre. The pontiff said the incident was the “first genocide of the 20th century.”

Ankara was quick in responding to the remarks. The Turkish Foreign Ministry recalled its ambassador to the Vatican for consultation amid the worsening diplomatic row over the issue.

People enter the City Hall to attend a ceremony as part of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian killings on April 16, 2015 in Marseille, southern France. © AFP

 

The European Parliament also on April 15 urged Turkey to acknowledge its historic responsibility for the massacre of Armenians during World War I, and pave the way for “a genuine reconciliation” with Yerevan.

However, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on the same day that, “For Turkey, it will never be possible to recognize such a sin, such a blame.”

Armenia, Argentina, Belgium, Canada, France, Italy, Russia and Uruguay formally recognize the incident as genocide.

MR/HSN/HMV


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