Agence France Presse
April 22, 2004
Armenia welcomes Canada’s recognition of WWI genocide
YEREVAN
Armenia on Thursday welcomed the Canadian parliament’s recognition
that Turkey had committed genocide against Armenians during World War
I.
“The parliamentary resolution recognises the genocide of Armenians
and condemns (it as) a crime against humanity,” said Gamlet
Guasparian, spokesman for the Armenian foreign ministry.
“In doing this, Canada pays tribute to millions of Armenians who
suffered genocide under the Ottoman empire,” he added.
Canada’s parliament adopted a resolution late on Wednesday
recognising that Turkey committed genocide against Armenians in 1915,
drawing immediate protests from the Turkish government.
The massacres of Armenians during World War I is one of the most
controversial episodes in Turkish history.
Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their kinsmen were massacred in
orchestrated killings between 1915 and 1917.
Turkey categorically rejects claims of genocide and says that some
300,000 Armenians and thousands of Turks were killed in civil strife
during World War I when the Armenians rose up against their Ottoman
rulers.