Armenian Catholic bishop from Egypt calls on Turkey to recognize Genocide

PanARMENIAN.Net - An Armenian Catholic bishop from Egypt, Krikor-Okosdinos Coussa of Alexandria, has called on Turkey to recognize the Armenian Genocide.



"In 1915, the Ottomans … killed the Armenian people in Greater Armenia and Lesser Armenia (Turkey). One and a half million people perished during this genocide," Coussa told a synod of African bishops taking place in Rome.



The killings drove the Armenians from Turkey to the Middle East and throughout the world, he noted.



"The leaders of the Armenian State and the heads of the Armenian Churches (Catholic, Orthodox and Evangelical) are performing an act of public pardon towards the Turks.



"We do so while appealing to the Turks to recognize the genocide, to pay homage to the martyrs and to grant Armenians their civil, political and religious rights," Coussa said.



In an apparent reference to an agreement signed last weekend between Turkey and Armenia normalizing ties, Coussa stated: "The path of reconciliation between the two States has begun."



Armenians protest the accord, saying the normal relations can only be founded on truth and justice. The document signed on Saturday calls for a historical commission to investigate the Armenian Genocide - a fact already acknowledged my historians and genocide scholars, Vatican City press-service reported.