Deutsche Presse-Agentur, Germany Tuesday 2:31 PM EST Rights group: Istanbul police break up memorial for Armenian killings Istanbul DPA POLITICS Turkey history Armenia Rights group: Istanbul police break up memorial for Armenian killings Istanbul Police in Istanbul broke up a memorial on Tuesday commemorating the deaths of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians in the Ottoman Empire during World War I, a leading human rights group said. Police objected to the terms "genocide" and "massacre," which were employed by speakers at the event, according to the Turkish Human Rights Association (IHD). Armenians regard the killings as genocide and have demanded recognition from Turkey, which denies the term, saying there were many deaths on all sides during the brutal war. April 24, the day deportations of Armenian intellectuals began in Istanbul in 1915, is marked as a memorial day. In recent years, rallies and marches have been held in Istanbul. "Police did not allow the memorial to take place and briefly detained three of our members for holding placards that included banned words," an IHD spokesperson told dpa. The Istanbul police department was not immediately available to comment. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan released a written statement saying Turkey continues to "share the pain" and "remember the Ottoman Armenians who lost their lives during the fierce and harsh conditions of the First World War." A number of nations around the world, including Germany, France and the Netherlands, have recognized the killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire as "genocide."