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ISTANBUL: Ankara upset at Vatican for pope's remarks on mass killing

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  • ISTANBUL: Ankara upset at Vatican for pope's remarks on mass killing

    Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
    June 7 2013

    Ankara upset at Vatican for pope's remarks on mass killings of Armenians


    ANKARA

    Turkey has reacted angrily to the Vatican following a statement from
    Pope Francis describing the mass killings of Armenians during World
    War I as "the first genocide of the twentieth century" during a
    meeting with a delegation led by Patriarch of Cilicia of Armenian
    Catholics on June 3.

    "The Turkish Foreign Ministry delivered Turkey's views on the issue
    and expressed disappointment to the embassy in Ankara and Vatican in
    Rome," a Turkish diplomat told the Hürriyet Daily News on June 7.

    Pope Francis described the mass killings of Armenians during World War
    I as "the first genocide of the 20th century" during a meeting with a
    delegation led by Patriarch of Cilicia of Armenian Catholics on June
    3.

    The pope met with members of the delegation and when one of them said
    that she was a descendant of genocide victims, he replied, "The first
    genocide of the 20th Century was that of the Armenians," reiterating
    his earlier recognition of the mass killings as "Armenian Genocide"
    while he was the head of the Catholic Church in Buenos Aires as a
    cardinal.

    In 2006, during events marking the 91st anniversary of the killings in
    Buenos Aires, he had urged Turkey to recognize "the genocide" as the
    "gravest crime of Ottoman Turkey against the Armenian people and the
    entire humanity."

    Commenting on the issue, Armenian Apostolic Church Diocese of Gougark
    Bishop Sebouh Chuljyan Primate said, "The pope is speaking out a
    historical truth. Turkey needs to see the pains and should face the
    genocide," he told the Hürriyet Daily News, adding that the archives
    of the Vatican may be opened to investigate the issue further.

    The director of the Armenian National Committee of South America,
    Alfonso Tabakian, explained that this was the first such statement
    from the pontiff since being elevated to pope and leader of the Roman
    Catholic Church.

    Tabakian called the statement "very important since his words
    transcend any state or religion," according to the Armenian weekly
    website.

    Sevil Küçükkoşum and Vercihan Ziflioğlu contributed this story.
    June/07/2013

    http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/pope-recognizes-the-mass-killings-of-armenians-as-first-genocide-of-the-20th-century.aspx?pageID=238&nID=48389&NewsCatID=359

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