ARMENIANS MARK 91ST ANNIVERSARY OF OTTOMAN EMPIRE MASSACRES
Voice of America News
April 25, 2006
Armenia has marked the 91st anniversary of massacres inflicted on
Armenians in Turkey under the Ottoman Empire – events Armenians refer
to as genocide.
Hundreds of thousands of people marched through Yerevan Monday climbing
to a hilltop memorial to lay wreaths in remembrance of the 1.5 million
people Armenia says were slaughtered in Turkey between 1915 and 1923.
Armenian-Americans are holding a 91-hour prayer vigil and demonstration
outside the Turkish embassy in Washington.
President Bush issued a statement calling it one of the 20th century’s
most horrible tragedies which he world must never forget.
Turkey strongly disputes the charge of genocide. It says 300,000
Armenians and thousands of Turks died as a result of a Russian-backed
Armenian uprising against Ottoman rule.
Ankara has come under increasing international pressure to acknowledge
its actions during those years as it seeks membership in the European
Union.
Several European countries, including France and Switzerland, recognize
the event as genocide.