Armenia remembers 'genocide campaign'
Posted by admin | 9 years ago | 3,449 times
The presidents of France and Russia today, joined other leaders to mark the centenary of the start of mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks in the Armenian capital, Yerevan.
Armenia says up to 1.5 million people died, a figure disputed by Turkey.
Turkey strongly objects to the use of the term genocide to describe the killings and the issue has soured relations between the nations.
Turkey however, accepts that atrocities were committed but argues there was no systematic attempt to destroy the Christian Armenian people. Turkey says many innocent Muslim Turks also died in the turmoil of war.
A memorial service was held in Turkey on Friday and its prime minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, said the country would "share the pain" of Armenians. But he reiterated Turkey's stance that the killings were not genocide.
After a flower-laying ceremony in Yerevan, Mr Sargsyan addressed the guests, saying: "I am grateful to all those who are here to once again confirm your commitment to human values, to say that nothing is forgotten, that after 100 years we remember."
In his address, French President Francois Hollande said: "We will never forget the tragedies that your people have endured."
France has been a strong advocate of recognising the killings as genocide and President Hollande has pushed for a law to punish genocide denial.
In his speech, Russian President Vladimir Putin described the killings as "one the most tragic disasters in the history of humankind" which "shook the whole world".
"There cannot be any justification for mass murder of people," he said. "Today we mourn together with the Armenian people."
Source: bbc
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