A rally in Times Square marked the centennial of the deaths of as many 1.5 million Armenians under the Ottoman Empire — today’s Turkey.

Sunday, April 26 afternoon’s rally drew several thousand people demanding the U.S. government deem the deaths during World War I genocide, New York Post reports.

The international dispute over the killings focuses on that one word.

Pope Francis recently labeled the deaths genocide, a view widely shared by scholars. Turkey however denies that the deaths constituted genocide. They say the toll has been inflated and that those killed were victims of civil war and unrest.

The New York rally is sponsored by the Armenian Genocide Centennial Committee of America.