Armenians all over the world commemorate victims of the 1915 genocide in Ottoman Turkey
24.04.2015,
12:10
Today Armenians all over the world are commemorating the genocide of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey in 1915.
YEREVAN, April 24. /ARKA/. Today Armenians all over the world are commemorating the centenary of the genocide of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey in 1915.
Presidents of Russia, France, Serbia and Cyprus are expected to partake in commemoration events.
The Armenian Apostolic Church performed yesterday the canonization of the innocent victims of the Genocide in a ceremony followed by 100 rings of bells of all Armenian churches around the world.
Every year on this day tens of thousands people pay tribute to the genocide victims at hilltop Tsitsernakaberd Genocide Memorial. This year, access for the public to Tsitsernakaberd is allowed from 1 pm.
High-level delegations from various countries, members of the government and lawmakers, clergymen and numerous guests will be paying their tribute to the memory of the victims at Tsitsernakaberd. Armenians will hold protests near Turkish embassies all over the world demanding acknowledgment of the genocide by Turkey. A torchlight procession is expected from Yerevan’s main square to Tsitsernakaberd.
A joint statement made by Russia, France and Great Britain in May 1915 was the first international response to extermination of Armenians in Ottoman Empire. The crime against the Armenian nation was defined as a “new crime against humanity and civilization”. The super powers warned the Ottoman Empire of the responsibility for the crime. The US Senate passed decisions on status of Armenians in 1916, 1919 and 1920.
The Armenian Genocide was the first genocide of the twentieth century.
According to Armenian and many other historians, up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed starting in 1915 in a systematic campaign by the government of Turkey.
Turkey has been denying it for decades.
The Armenian Genocide was recognized by tens of countries. The first was Uruguay that did so in 1965. Other nations are Russia, France, Italy, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Poland, Lithuania, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, Greece, Cyprus, Lebanon, Canada, Venezuela, Argentina, 43 U.S. states. It was recognized also by the Vatican, the European Parliament, the World Council of Churches and other international organizations. –0--
