Pope: Armenians are first victims of genocide of 20th century
NEWS DESK (DİHA) - Pope Francis marked the 100th anniversary of the slaughter of Armenians by calling it “the first genocide of the 20th century” – a politically explosive pronouncement that is likely to anger Turkey.
Francis, who has close ties to the Armenian community from his days in Argentina, defended his pronouncement by saying it was his duty to honour the memory of the men, women, children, priests and bishops who were “senselessly” murdered. “Concealing or denying evil is like allowing a wound to keep bleeding without bandaging it,” he said at the start of mass on Sunday in the Armenian Catholic rite in St Peter’s Basilica honouring the centenary.
Historians estimate that up to 1.5 million Armenians were massacred by Ottoman Turks around the time of the first world war, in what is widely viewed by genocide scholars as the first genocide of the 20th century. However, Turkey denies that the deaths constituted genocide, saying that the toll has been inflated and that those killed were victims of civil war and unrest.
Turkey’s embassy to the Holy See cancelled a press conference planned for Sunday, presumably after learning that the pope would utter the word “genocide” over its objections. Several European countries recognise the massacres as genocide, though Italy and the United States have avoided using the term officially given the importance they place on Turkey as an ally.
(nt)
