Armenian archbishop recalls Erdogan message on Genocide anniversary

April 24, 2017 - 14:47 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - A remembrance mass was served at Surb Vardanants church in Ferikoy district of Istanbul to commemorate the 102nd anniversary of the Armenian Genocide

Vicar of the Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople, archbishop Aram Ateshyan delivered remarks, recalling a message issued by the then-president Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2014 on the 99th anniversary of the Genocide.

Around 100 Armenians participated in the mass, served by Ateshyan, RFE/RL Armenian Service reports.

102 years have passed since the beginning of the Armenian Genocide, perpetrated in the Ottoman Empire between 1915 and 1923.

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.