Armenians mark 95th anniversary of Genocide

PanARMENIAN.Net - Today, April 24, marks the 95th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

The Armenian Genocide was masterminded by the Central Committee of the Young Turk Party led by Mehmed Talat Pasha, Ismail Enver Pasha, and Ahmed Djemal Pasha. 95 years ago today, Armenian intellectuals of Constantinople were arrested, the figure reaching 800 during a week. Majority of them were killed in prisons, the others died when being exiled.

In all, from 1.5 to 2 million people were slaughtered in the Ottoman Empire during the WWI. The entire population of six vilayets of Western Armenia was annihilated. Those who survived found shelter in different countries of the world, forming the Armenian Diaspora.

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 the Genocide.

The Armenian Genocide was recognized by Uruguay, Russia, France, Lithuania, the Italian Chamber of Deputies, majority of U.S. states, parliaments of Greece, Cyprus, Argentina, Belgium and Wales, National Council of Switzerland, Chamber of Commons of Canada, Polish Sejm, Vatican, European Parliament and the World Council of Churches.