Xinhua General News Service, CHina
April 24, 2010 Saturday 5:55 PM EST

Turks commemorate Armenian victims

ISTANBUL April 24

About 1,000 Turks gathered in Istanbul’s central Taksim square on
Saturday to commemorate Armenian victims of the violence in 1915.

The campaign, titled "This pain is for all of us," was the first
public one by Turks in recognition of the pain suffered by Armenians
in 1915.

Armenians claim the violence committed by Ottoman Turks against
Armenian people in 1915 was genocide, a charge Turkey strongly
rejects, saying the events were civil strife in wartime claiming the
lives of many Turks and Armenians.

Every year on April 24 Armenians commemorate the event of 1915, but
this year, for the first time, nearly 1,000 Turks gathered in Taksim
square for a candle-light vigil for Armenian suffering.

Organizer Cengiz Algun told Xinhua that the vigil was "to show that
our Armenian siblings are also children of this land."

"We are very pleased with how the event turned out, it was much better
than we expected," he added.

Police presence was prominent at the vigil, with officers forming a
solid wall around the people to prevent any violence.