Armenia marks 95th anniversary of genocide in Ottoman Turkey
Armenia marks anniversary of massacre amid fresh tensions with Turkey
Armenia today marked the 95th anniversary of the mass killing of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey, days after a landmark reconciliation deal between Armenia and Turkey collapsed.
Crowds of mourners braved the rain to lay flowers and attend a religious ceremony in honor of the victims at a hilltop memorial in the Armenian capital, Yerevan.
President Serzh Sarkisian, dressed in a black raincoat, was also in attendance.
Armenia suspended its reconciliation accord with Turkey on April 22 after Ankara demanded that it first make peace with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh, a breakaway enclave of Azerbaijan controlled by ethnic Armenians.
Hours after Armenia halted the accord, Azerbaijan, a close ally of Turkey, warned that its army was ready to "hit any target" in order to reclaim control of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Under the deal signed by Yerevan and Ankara in October, the two sides were to restore diplomatic ties and reopen their common border after a century of hostility linked to the mass killings of Armenians, which Armenia and many historians say constituted genocide.
Turkey firmly rejects the term, saying many others were killed in ethnic violence as Russian forces invaded eastern Anatolia during World War I. It also rejects Yerevan's claim that up to 1.5 million Armenians were massacred.
The governments or parliaments of many countries, including France and Canada, have recognized the massacres as genocide.
The United States have so far refrained from using the controversial term, and Armenians will be closely watching U.S. President Barack Obama's annual statement on the killings later today.
At today's memorial ceremony, many Armenians voiced frustration over the lack of universal recognition of the massacre as genocide.
"The recognition of the Armenian genocide should never become a dispute between states," Armenian opposition leader Levon Zurabian told RFE/RL's Armenian Service. "Because genocide is a crime against mankind and it should become an issue for all mankind."
Despite Ankara's firm stance on the issue, a number of Turks support Armenia's campaign to have Turkey recognize the massacres as genocide, with some even traveling to Yerevan today to pay tribute to the victims.
A group of Turkish protesters also gathered in Istanbul today in support of the Armenian cause.
"We will talk about the Armenian genocide until it is finally acknowledged in Turkey," activist Ozlen Daltran told RFE/RL at the rally.
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