Thousands of Armenians attended Genocide commemoration ceremony in RomeApril 26, 2008 - 16:45 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A Mass in Rome celebrated by the rector of the Pontifical Armenian College was among many events marking the 93rd anniversary the Armenian Genocide.Monsignor Hovsep Kelekian celebrated the Mass in the Armenian church of St. Nicholas of Tolentine. He lamented the lack of an official international recognition of the "'metz yeghern (great calamity) of the genocide" and expressed his hope that "the genocide of the Armenian people be recognized by the whole world" because "it is a fact." "We have gathered today to honor our martyrs and give thanks to our relatives who gave us this life we live today," Monsignor Kelekian said. "We hope that we can faithfully transmit to our descendants what we have inherited - our faith and our Armenian culture." After the Mass, prayers were said before the Khachkar memorial erected in 2006 in memory of the victims. The memorial Mass for the some 1.5 million victims was one of the events of the awareness campaign led by the council of the Armenian community of Rome. L'Osservatore Romano today noted a petition from recently elected Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan that the international community recognize the massacre. He said Thursday that such recognition is a priority of his presidency. Armenia's goal is not revenge, Sargsyan added. "We are willing to establish normal relations with Turkey even tomorrow, without preconditions, but the denial of the genocide has no future, above all now that many countries around the world have united their voices to the chorus of the truth." L'Osservatore Romano noted that 22 countries recognize the massacre as genocide. Turkey denies that the killings were a systematic "genocide" and considers it a crime to use that term to refer to the event, Zenit.org reports. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia. U.S. welcomes efforts to define Armenia-Azerbaijan border The United States welcomes efforts to define the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, says Vedant Patel. Biden honors resilience of Armenian people on April 24 U.S. President Joe Biden has issued a statement on the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Ex-Karabakh leader moved to solitary confinement cell in Baku, his son says David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. |