President Robert Kotcharian and President Jacques Chirac

04/22/05

Visiting Armenian President Robert Kotcharian and his French
counterpart, Jacques Chirac stood before the Armenian Monument in
Paris, after laying a wreath Friday, April 22, 2005.

This weekend Armenia and Armenians all over the world mark the 90th
anniversary of what they call the genocide perpetrated by Turkey
between 1915 and 1917, killing up to 1.5 million Armenians.

Turkey rejects the claim, saying the number of deaths is inflated and
that the victims were killed in civil unrest during the collapse of
the empire.

The French parliament officially recognized the killings as a genocide
in 2001, one of several moves that strained ties between Paris and
Ankara. Last year, Chirac told Turkey it would have to recognize the
mass killings as genocide if it wanted to become a member of the
European Union, insisting the French would otherwise vote Turkey out
in a referendum.

(AP, Kovarik, pool) The Associated Press

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress