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Armenians to commemorate 1915 'genocide' centenary

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  • Armenians to commemorate 1915 'genocide' centenary

    Press TV> Iran
    April 19 2015

    Armenians to commemorate 1915 'genocide' centenary


    People in Armenia are preparing to mark the 100th anniversary of the
    1915 killing of Armenians by the Ottoman forces as controversy over
    the issue lingers in Turkey.

    Hundreds of thousands are expected to participate in the ceremony in
    the Armenian capital, Yerevan, on Friday. Similar memorials are also
    scheduled to be held around the world by Armenians in diaspora.

    Armenians claim up to 1.5 million Armenian Christians were
    systematically slaughtered in eastern Turkey through mass killings,
    forced relocations and starvation, a process that began in 1915 and
    took place over several years during World War I and the breakup of
    the Ottoman Empire.

    Ankara, however, rejects the term "genocide" and says 300,000 to
    500,000 Armenians, and at least as many Turks perished between 1915
    and 1917, and they were the casualties of World War I.

    President Serzh Sarkisian, meanwhile, has said Armenians will use the
    planned anniversary to remind the world of the struggle to recognize
    the massacre as genocide.

    A picture released by the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute dated
    1915 purportedly shows soldiers standing over skulls of victims from
    the Armenian village of Sheyxalan in the Mush valley, on the Caucasus
    front during the First World War. (c) AFP



    "This is an important date for the Armenian people and international
    community not only to look back and think over historical facts but to
    say 'never again'," he said in a recent speech.

    Turkey, for its part, is set to hold a major event for the 100th
    anniversary of the Battle of Gallipoli, usually marked on April 25, on
    Friday, in a move that has drawn the ire of Armenia, which has
    described the event as an effort to divert attention from what they
    call their genocide commemorations.

    Flare-up of tensions

    Earlier this month, tensions about the killings rose again after Pope
    Francis in controversial remarks during a Sunday solemn mass in Saint
    Peter's Basilica used the word "genocide" to describe the massacre.
    The pontiff said the incident was the "first genocide of the 20th
    century."

    Ankara was quick in responding to the remarks. The Turkish Foreign
    Ministry recalled its ambassador to the Vatican for consultation amid
    the worsening diplomatic row over the issue.

    People enter the City Hall to attend a ceremony as part of the 100th
    anniversary of the Armenian killings on April 16, 2015 in Marseille,
    southern France. (c) AFP



    The European Parliament also on April 15 urged Turkey to acknowledge
    its historic responsibility for the massacre of Armenians during World
    War I, and pave the way for "a genuine reconciliation" with Yerevan.

    However, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on the same day
    that, "For Turkey, it will never be possible to recognize such a sin,
    such a blame."

    Armenia, Argentina, Belgium, Canada, France, Italy, Russia and Uruguay
    formally recognize the incident as genocide.


    MR/HSN/HMV
    http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2015/04/19/406997/Armenians-to-honor-genocide-centenary

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