France24
March 21 2015

THE INTERVIEW
Armenia slams Turkey over genocide centennial absence

In an interview with FRANCE 24, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s decision to change this
year’s Gallipoli commemoration to coincide with Armenia’s marking of
the 100th anniversary of the genocide was a “cynical act”.

On April 24, Armenia is set to commemorate the centennial of the
Armenian genocide, which saw the deportation and deaths of up to 1.5
million Armenians during World War I.

“Our intention was to commemorate the centennial together with the
Turkish people,” explained Sargsyan, noting that it was the reason his
government invited the Turkish leader to attend the commemorations.

Instead, Erdogan chose the same day to invite his Armenian counterpart
to the centennial of the Gallipoli campaign, which marked a major
World War I victory for the Ottoman forces against Allied troops,
mostly from Australian and New Zealand. The date of their landing —
known as “Anzac Day” — is marked on April 25 every year.

Turkey has long denied the mass deportation and killings of Armenian
subjects of the Ottoman empire constituted genocide, claiming instead
that they were the consequences of inter-ethnic violence inflamed
during wartime.

Erdogan’s decision to change the date of the Gallipoli ceremonies to
coincide with the Armenian centennial commemoration has drawn a sharp
rebuke from Sargsyan.

“Unfortunately, once again we find ourselves facing a negationist
approach and I’m sorry to use this expression, but it is a
particularly cynical act. The Battle of Gallipoli did not start of
April 24 [1915], nor did it end on April 24, it’s self-evident. This
is a way of injuring, of wounding the Armenian people and at the same
time, it is intended to set obstacles on the path to centennial
commemorations [of the Armenian genocide],” said Sargsyan.

The April 24 ceremonies will be attended by a number of world leaders,
including French President François Hollande and Russian President
Vladimir Putin.

By Marc PERELMAN
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