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POPE FRANCIS SAYS SLAUGHTER OF ARMENIANS WAS FIRST GENOCIDE OF 20TH CENTURY
New York Daily News
April 13 2015
VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis on Sunday marked the 100th anniversary
of the slaughter of Armenians by calling the massacre by Ottoman Turks
"the first genocide of the 20th century" and urging the international
community to recognize it as such.
Turkey responded by recalling its ambassador and accusing Francis of
spreading hatred and "unfounded claims."
Francis issued the pronouncement during a Mass in St. Peter's Basilica
commemorating the centenary that was attended by Armenian church
leaders and President Serge Sarkisian, who praised the Pope for
"delivering a powerful message to the international community."
"The words of the leader of a church with 1 billion followers cannot
but have a strong impact," he told The Associated Press.
Historians estimate that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by
Ottoman Turks around the time of World War I, an event widely viewed
by scholars as the first genocide of the 20th century.
Turkey, however, denies a genocide took place. It has insisted that
the toll has been inflated and that those killed were victims of
civil war and unrest.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/pope-francis-slaughter-armenians-genocide-article-1.2183037
From: Baghdasarian
New York Daily News
April 13 2015
VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis on Sunday marked the 100th anniversary
of the slaughter of Armenians by calling the massacre by Ottoman Turks
"the first genocide of the 20th century" and urging the international
community to recognize it as such.
Turkey responded by recalling its ambassador and accusing Francis of
spreading hatred and "unfounded claims."
Francis issued the pronouncement during a Mass in St. Peter's Basilica
commemorating the centenary that was attended by Armenian church
leaders and President Serge Sarkisian, who praised the Pope for
"delivering a powerful message to the international community."
"The words of the leader of a church with 1 billion followers cannot
but have a strong impact," he told The Associated Press.
Historians estimate that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by
Ottoman Turks around the time of World War I, an event widely viewed
by scholars as the first genocide of the 20th century.
Turkey, however, denies a genocide took place. It has insisted that
the toll has been inflated and that those killed were victims of
civil war and unrest.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/pope-francis-slaughter-armenians-genocide-article-1.2183037
From: Baghdasarian