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Armenians remember Turkish killings 92 years ago

YEREVAN, Armenia -- Thousands of Armenians climbed a mountain in the country's capital on Tuesday to lay wreaths of remembrance for 1.5 million victims of what they call a genocide by Ottoman Turkey 92 years ago. Modern Turkey rejects the Armenian claim, though the issue has evolved into a festering source of tension to both Ankara's EU ambitions and its relations with the United States.

Clutching red tulips and carnations, local families mingled with members of Armenia's diaspora who flew in from Europe and the United States to remember loved ones who perished between 1915 and 1923.

"We are Armenians and we have to send an important message to Turkey to acknowledge our genocide," said Carla Garapedian, a film director who travelled from the United States.

The killings during the chaotic disintegration of the Ottoman Empire should be declared a genocide, Armenia insists.

Turkey rejects this view, arguing instead that Armenians were victims of a partisan war that also claimed many Muslim Turkish lives.

Related Links

  • Armenia/Turkey: Still divided on genocide, but signs Of warming
  • Turkey: Turkish academics dispute 'genocide' label
  • Interview with former U.S. ambassador to Armenia John Evans, who lost his job after referring to the Armenian genocide as “genocide”
  • Read entire article at Reuters