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Middle East Eye
April 12 2015
Pope cites Armenian killings as 'genocide'
24 April marks the 100th anniversary of the Armenian killings
Pope Francis used the word "genocide" on Sunday to describe the mass
deaths of Armenians toward the end of Ottoman rule, in a move likely
to severely strain diplomatic ties with Turkey.
"In the past century our human family has lived through three massive
and unprecedented tragedies," Pope Francis said during a solemn mass
in Saint Peter's Basilica to honour a 10th century Armenian mystic.
"The first, which is widely considered 'the first genocide of the 20th
century', struck your own Armenian people," he said, citing a
statement signed by John Paul II and the Armenian patriarch in 2001.
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan was among those attending the
service.
The event was held close to the centenary of the killing of Armenians
during Ottoman rule. The start of the killing is marked in Armenia on
24 April.
Turkey has now summoned the Vatican envoy to Ankara to request an
explanation over the comments, television reports said.
The envoy had been summoned to the foreign ministry in Ankara, the NTV
and CNN-Turk channels said.
There were no further details but according to Turkish media reports
an official statement is to be released by the foreign ministry later
in the day.
While many historians describe the killings as the 20th century's
first genocide, Turkey hotly denies the accusation. Pope Francis
reportedly also used the term two years ago, prompting a strong
protest from Ankara.
While Francis on Sunday did not use his own words to describe the
murders as genocide, John Paul II's use of the term provoked a sharp
reaction from Turkey at the time, and citing the former pope will do
more than ruffle feathers.
"We recall the centenary of that tragic event, that immense and
senseless slaughter whose cruelty your forebears had to endure,"
Francis said. "It is necessary, and indeed a duty, to honour their
memory, for whenever memory fades, it means that evil allows wounds to
fester.".
The 78-year-old head of the Roman Catholic Church had been under
pressure to use the term publicly to describe the events despite the
risk of alienating an important ally in the fight against radicalisms.
Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their kin were killed between 1915
and 1917 as the Ottoman Empire was falling apart, and they have long
sought to win international recognition of the massacres as genocide.
Turkey rejects the claims, arguing that 300,000 to 500,000 Armenians
and as many Turks died in civil strife when Armenians rose up against
their Ottoman rulers and sided with invading Russian troops.
Francis said the other two genocides of the 20th century were
"perpetrated by Nazism and Stalinism".
"And more recently there have been other mass killings, like those in
Cambodia, Rwanda, Burundi and Bosnia. It seems that humanity is
incapable of putting a halt to the shedding of innocent blood," he
said.
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/pope-cites-armenian-killings-genocide-680383196
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
April 12 2015
Pope cites Armenian killings as 'genocide'
24 April marks the 100th anniversary of the Armenian killings
Pope Francis used the word "genocide" on Sunday to describe the mass
deaths of Armenians toward the end of Ottoman rule, in a move likely
to severely strain diplomatic ties with Turkey.
"In the past century our human family has lived through three massive
and unprecedented tragedies," Pope Francis said during a solemn mass
in Saint Peter's Basilica to honour a 10th century Armenian mystic.
"The first, which is widely considered 'the first genocide of the 20th
century', struck your own Armenian people," he said, citing a
statement signed by John Paul II and the Armenian patriarch in 2001.
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan was among those attending the
service.
The event was held close to the centenary of the killing of Armenians
during Ottoman rule. The start of the killing is marked in Armenia on
24 April.
Turkey has now summoned the Vatican envoy to Ankara to request an
explanation over the comments, television reports said.
The envoy had been summoned to the foreign ministry in Ankara, the NTV
and CNN-Turk channels said.
There were no further details but according to Turkish media reports
an official statement is to be released by the foreign ministry later
in the day.
While many historians describe the killings as the 20th century's
first genocide, Turkey hotly denies the accusation. Pope Francis
reportedly also used the term two years ago, prompting a strong
protest from Ankara.
While Francis on Sunday did not use his own words to describe the
murders as genocide, John Paul II's use of the term provoked a sharp
reaction from Turkey at the time, and citing the former pope will do
more than ruffle feathers.
"We recall the centenary of that tragic event, that immense and
senseless slaughter whose cruelty your forebears had to endure,"
Francis said. "It is necessary, and indeed a duty, to honour their
memory, for whenever memory fades, it means that evil allows wounds to
fester.".
The 78-year-old head of the Roman Catholic Church had been under
pressure to use the term publicly to describe the events despite the
risk of alienating an important ally in the fight against radicalisms.
Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their kin were killed between 1915
and 1917 as the Ottoman Empire was falling apart, and they have long
sought to win international recognition of the massacres as genocide.
Turkey rejects the claims, arguing that 300,000 to 500,000 Armenians
and as many Turks died in civil strife when Armenians rose up against
their Ottoman rulers and sided with invading Russian troops.
Francis said the other two genocides of the 20th century were
"perpetrated by Nazism and Stalinism".
"And more recently there have been other mass killings, like those in
Cambodia, Rwanda, Burundi and Bosnia. It seems that humanity is
incapable of putting a halt to the shedding of innocent blood," he
said.
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/pope-cites-armenian-killings-genocide-680383196
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress