Ceremonies are being held in Armenia to mark the centenary of the start of mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks.
The
presidents of France and Russia joined other leaders at the memorial
for the victims on the outskirts of the 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
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 will also be held in Turkey on Friday and its prime
minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, has said the country will "share the pain" of
Armenians. But he reiterated Turkey's stance that the killings were not
genocide.
Turkey is on Friday also hosting ceremonies to mark the 100th anniversary of the start of the Battle of Gallipoli.
However,
the actual fighting there began on 25 April, and Armenian President
Serzh Sargsyan has accused Turkey of "trying to divert world attention"
from the Yerevan commemorations.
Canonisation
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."
No comments:
Post a Comment