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ONE-AND-A-HALF HOUR SERVICE HELD AT ST. PETER BASILICA IN VATICAN.
Turkish Government News
April 13, 2015 Monday
Ankara
The Turkish Government has issued the following press release:
Pope Francis has held a service in Vatican City for Armenians who
lost their lives in the 1915 incidents.
The spiritual leader of the world's estimated one billion Catholics
held a rite lasting about one-and-a-half hours at St. Peter Basilica
on Sunday.
"The first 'genocide' of the 20th century struck Armenians," the
Pope said.
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan; Catholicos Karekin II, the current
Catholicos of All Armenians and also the supreme head of the Armenian
Apostolic Church, and Aram I Keshishian, the head of the Catholicosate
of the Great House of Cilicia, also attended the rite.
The 1915 events took place during World War I when a portion of
the Armenian population living in the Ottoman Empire sided with the
invading Russians and revolted.
The Ottoman Empire relocated Armenians in eastern Anatolia following
the revolts and there were some Armenian casualties during the
relocation process.
'Great tragedy'
Armenia has demanded an apology and compensation, while Turkey has
officially refuted Armenian allegations over the incidents saying that,
although Armenians died during the relocations, many Turks also lost
their lives in attacks carried out by Armenian gangs in Anatolia.
The Turkish government has repeatedly called on historians to study
Ottoman archives pertaining to the era in order to uncover what
actually happened between the Ottoman government and its Armenian
citizens.
The debate on "genocide" and the differing opinions between the
present day Turkish government and the Armenian diaspora, along with
the current administration in Yerevan, still generates political
tension between Turks and Armenians.
Turkey's official position against allegations of "genocide" is that
it acknowledges the past experiences were a great tragedy and that both
parties suffered heavy casualties, including hundreds of Muslim Turks.
Turkey agrees that there were certainly Armenian casualties during
World War I, but that it is impossible to define these incidents as
"genocide".
Turkish Government News
April 13, 2015 Monday
Ankara
The Turkish Government has issued the following press release:
Pope Francis has held a service in Vatican City for Armenians who
lost their lives in the 1915 incidents.
The spiritual leader of the world's estimated one billion Catholics
held a rite lasting about one-and-a-half hours at St. Peter Basilica
on Sunday.
"The first 'genocide' of the 20th century struck Armenians," the
Pope said.
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan; Catholicos Karekin II, the current
Catholicos of All Armenians and also the supreme head of the Armenian
Apostolic Church, and Aram I Keshishian, the head of the Catholicosate
of the Great House of Cilicia, also attended the rite.
The 1915 events took place during World War I when a portion of
the Armenian population living in the Ottoman Empire sided with the
invading Russians and revolted.
The Ottoman Empire relocated Armenians in eastern Anatolia following
the revolts and there were some Armenian casualties during the
relocation process.
'Great tragedy'
Armenia has demanded an apology and compensation, while Turkey has
officially refuted Armenian allegations over the incidents saying that,
although Armenians died during the relocations, many Turks also lost
their lives in attacks carried out by Armenian gangs in Anatolia.
The Turkish government has repeatedly called on historians to study
Ottoman archives pertaining to the era in order to uncover what
actually happened between the Ottoman government and its Armenian
citizens.
The debate on "genocide" and the differing opinions between the
present day Turkish government and the Armenian diaspora, along with
the current administration in Yerevan, still generates political
tension between Turks and Armenians.
Turkey's official position against allegations of "genocide" is that
it acknowledges the past experiences were a great tragedy and that both
parties suffered heavy casualties, including hundreds of Muslim Turks.
Turkey agrees that there were certainly Armenian casualties during
World War I, but that it is impossible to define these incidents as
"genocide".