Eurasia Review
April 25 2010

Armenians Mourn World War I-Era Killings

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Tens of thousands of Armenians gathered in the capital of Yerevan
under cloudy skies Saturday to remember mass killings of Armenians by
Ottoman Turks.

Rain fell as they placed flowers at a hilltop memorial on the 95th
anniversary of the World War I-era deaths.

Armenian President Serzh Sarkisyan thanked countries all over the
world, including Turkey, that "understand the importance of preventing
crimes against humanity."

Armenia says the killings of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians
between 1915 and 1923 constituted genocide, a charge rejected by
Turkey. Turkey says the death toll is greatly exaggerated, and that
the Armenians died in a civil war that accompanied the collapse of the
Ottoman Empire.

U.S. President Barack Obama released a statement Saturday calling the
killings "one of the worst atrocities of the 20th century" but avoided
using the term, genocide.

Mr. Obama said he is encouraged by dialogue between Turks and
Armenians, and within Turkey over what he called "this painful
history."

Turkey briefly recalled its ambassador to the United States after a
U.S. congressional panel passed a resolution labeling the World War
I-era killings a genocide.

Turkish officials have also been pressuring U.S. officials to make
sure the measure is not ratified by the full House of Representatives.

The killings, which Armenians call the Meds Yeghern, were also
commemorated in several major cities around the world, including
Moscow, Beirut and Jerusalem.

The day was also marked by human rights activists in the Turkish city
of Istanbul. They gathered outside a railway station holding pictures
of Armenians killed during World War One. They later threw flowers
into the water a sign or mourning.

This year’s anniversary comes as efforts to normalize relations
between Armenia and Turkey have broken down.

Despite the renewed tensions, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan has said his government is committed to normalizing ties with
Armenia.

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