Tribute to the Armenian genocide victims on 95th anniversary

Yerevan - Internationally, among those nations who recognize the 1915 genocide, April 24 is a day of commemoration. While Turkey rejects the label, the mass-killing of Armenians is regarded as genocide by more and more other countries

Yesterday, on the eve of the 95th anniversary of the Armenian genocide, ten thousand people marched through the streets of Yerevan, Armenia's capital, chanting "Recognize! " The marchers carried their national flag and also those of countries like Canada and France who are among those nations who do regard the systematic killing of more than a million of Armenians by Ottoman Turks between 1915 and 1917. Among the placards carried by marchers one could read slogans like "We demand compensation from Turkey!", or "Recognition Time is Now!" France 24 adds to this that the Yerevan march on Friday was motivated by the news that the Armenian government has announced it will halt ratification of a historic reconciliation accord with Turkey, a proposed treaty that would have normalised ties between the two nations after decades of hostility over these massacres; which Turkey does not want to be regarded as genocide. Modern Turkey, and the government under Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, categorically rejects the genocide label and claims a mere 500,000 Armenians and at least as many Turks died in what thy see as a civil war at the time. Today, Saturday, will see an officially authorized rally in Moscow, and others in various cities around the world, mainly in nations such as France, Germany, Canada etc. who regard the genocide definition as justified. Even in Istanbul, an unofficial commemoration seems to be planned by Armenians living in Turkey, despite the risk that participants may get arrested and prosecuted for acts that are classified as "insulting Turkishness." Turkey clashed, diplomatically, with the United States recently about this, when the US under President Obama announced it would join th number of nations to recognize the genocide. This was reported on Digital Journal in March, yet there are more DJ sources listed below. It is interesting to see just how the process of recognition has grown in the last 50 years outside Armenia itself. From a single country in 1965 (Uruguay) via eight by the year 2000 (Cyprus, Argentina, Russian Federation, Canada, Greece, Lebanon, Belgium) to 18 countries by 2010 (France, Switzerland, Slovakia, Netherlands, Poland, Germany, Venezuela, Lithuania, Chile, Sweden). Sometimes the number of 20 countries is cited, which is correct if one counts Armenia itself as well as the Vatican (joined the list in 2000). More sources Jews and Armenians - Two peoples sharing a combined grief Turkey to Establish Diplomatic Relations with Armenia Recognition of the Armenian Genocide [Wikipedia]