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ARMENIANS COMMEMORATE 1915 GENOCIDE
Xinhua General News Service, China
April 24, 2013 Wednesday 1:17 AM EST
Armenians on Wednesday marked the 98th anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide, a series of atrocities that left more than 1 million
people killed.
On April 24, 1915, the Ottoman Empire government arrested several
hundred Armenian intellectuals overnight. Most of them were executed
summarily and others were sent to exile, according to Armenian
historians.
That was followed by mass deportations of Armenians from the eastern
regions of Turkey, and an estimated 1 million to 1.5 million Armenians
were killed from 1915 to 1923, Armenian historians say.
Each year on April 24, thousands of Armenians from all walks
of life and all corners of the world visit the Genocide Memorial
Tsitsernakaberd ("Swallow's Fortress" in Armenian) in Yerevan to lay
flowers in memory of the victims of the genocide.
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and many high-ranking officials
visited the memorial to pay their respects.
"I come here every year and I think sooner or later Turkey will
recognize what they did to us," said 11-year old Ani.
"I do believe that Turkey will admit the fact of the Armenian Genocide
and hopefully that will be useful in preventing such crimes in the
future," said Nvard, a teacher from a local school in Yerevan.
More than 20 countries have officially recognized the fact of the
Armenian Genocide. In some countries like Switzerland, for instance,
the denial of the Armenian Genocide or the Meds Yeghern, as Armenians
call it, is in fact illegal.
However, the Turkish government has been consistently denying that
the tragedy was a planned genocide, and argues that the number of
people killed was much smaller.
Xinhua General News Service, China
April 24, 2013 Wednesday 1:17 AM EST
Armenians on Wednesday marked the 98th anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide, a series of atrocities that left more than 1 million
people killed.
On April 24, 1915, the Ottoman Empire government arrested several
hundred Armenian intellectuals overnight. Most of them were executed
summarily and others were sent to exile, according to Armenian
historians.
That was followed by mass deportations of Armenians from the eastern
regions of Turkey, and an estimated 1 million to 1.5 million Armenians
were killed from 1915 to 1923, Armenian historians say.
Each year on April 24, thousands of Armenians from all walks
of life and all corners of the world visit the Genocide Memorial
Tsitsernakaberd ("Swallow's Fortress" in Armenian) in Yerevan to lay
flowers in memory of the victims of the genocide.
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and many high-ranking officials
visited the memorial to pay their respects.
"I come here every year and I think sooner or later Turkey will
recognize what they did to us," said 11-year old Ani.
"I do believe that Turkey will admit the fact of the Armenian Genocide
and hopefully that will be useful in preventing such crimes in the
future," said Nvard, a teacher from a local school in Yerevan.
More than 20 countries have officially recognized the fact of the
Armenian Genocide. In some countries like Switzerland, for instance,
the denial of the Armenian Genocide or the Meds Yeghern, as Armenians
call it, is in fact illegal.
However, the Turkish government has been consistently denying that
the tragedy was a planned genocide, and argues that the number of
people killed was much smaller.