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Pope calls Armenian massacre first genocide of 20th century

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  • Pope calls Armenian massacre first genocide of 20th century

    Pune Mirror, India
    April 12 2015

    Pope calls Armenian massacre first genocide of 20th century


    VATICAN CITY Pope Francis described the massacre of as many as 1.5
    million Armenians as "the first genocide of the 20th century" at a
    100th anniversary Mass on Sunday, prompting Turkey to summon the Holy
    See's ambassador in Ankara in protest.

    Muslim Turkey accepts that many Christian Armenians died in clashes
    with Ottoman soldiers beginning in 1915, when Armenia was part of the
    empire ruled from Istanbul, but denies hundreds of thousands were
    killed and that this amounted to genocide.

    It was the first time a pope has publicly pronounced the word
    "genocide" for the massacre, repeating a term used by some European
    and South American countries but avoided by the US to maintain good
    relations with an important ally. Francis said the other two genocides
    of the 20th century were "perpetrated by Nazism and Stalinism", before
    pointing to more recent mass killings in Cambodia, Rwanda, Burundi and
    Bosnia.

    Francis, who has disregarded many aspects of protocol since becoming
    pope two years ago, uttered the phrase during a private meeting at the
    Vatican with an Armenian delegation in 2013, prompting a strong
    protest from Ankara. Turkey swiftly summoned the Vatican's ambassador
    in Ankara to protest and seek an explanation.


    http://www.punemirror.in/news/world/Pope-calls-Armenian-massacre-first-genocide-of-20th-century/articleshow/46899743.cms

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