Christian churches in Austria to commemorate Armenian Genocide

February 6, 2015 - 08:42 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - On April 24, the Christian churches in Austria will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, Gagrule.net reports.

According to Erich Leitenberger, a spokesman for the Foundation “Pro Oriente”, it is “truth and justice.”

“Genocide must be finally recognized and condemned. The people were killed there 100 years ago because of being Christian,” Leitenberger said. “Only those who have converted to Islam, were able to escape the massacre.”

The Armenian Genocide

The Armenian Genocide (1915-23) was the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I. It was characterized by massacres and deportations, involving forced marches under conditions designed to lead to the death of the deportees, with the total number of deaths reaching 1.5 million.

The majority of Armenian Diaspora communities were formed by the Genocide survivors.

Present-day Turkey denies the fact of the Armenian Genocide, justifying the atrocities as “deportation to secure Armenians”. Only a few Turkish intellectuals, including Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk and scholar Taner Akcam, speak openly about the necessity to recognize this crime against humanity.

The Armenian Genocide was recognized by Uruguay, Russia, France, Lithuania, Italy, 45 U.S. states, Greece, Cyprus, Lebanon, Argentina, Belgium, Austria, Wales, Switzerland, Canada, Poland, Venezuela, Chile, Bolivia, the Vatican, Luxembourg, Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands, Paraguay, Sweden, Venezuela, Slovakia, Syria, Vatican, as well as the European Parliament and the World Council of Churches.