ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

The German President Joachim Gauck spoke following mass held at the Berlin Cathedral in commemoration of the genocide of Armenians, Assyrians and Pontic Greeks. Gauck defined 1915 as genocide, and also underlined Germany’s role in the events.

President Erdoğan has made a joint statement with Iraq President Fuad Masum: “Armenia speaks as if our 100th anniversary Gallipoli commemorations are in retaliation. We have no such qualms.”

Group leaders of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU/CSU) and the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), the two parties that form the coalition government in Germany, have reportedly agreed to use the expressions ‘the fate of the Armenians constitutes an example of the history of deportation an genocide’ in the ‘Armenian Resolution’ to be presented on April 24, 2015, Friday, at the German Federal Assembly. The government is also expected to back the resolution.

The Prime Minister’s Office of the Republic of Turkey has published an official statement on the eve of 24 April. The statement concludes with the words “…we once more commemorate with deep respect the Ottoman Armenians who lost their lives during the relocation in 1915 and we share in the grief of their children and grandchildren.”

Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, Cemil Çiçek, has made a statement regarding Pope Francis’s words during the commemoration mass held for the victims of the Armenian Genocide, saying “It is unacceptable for someone occupying that seat to cast such slander. What the Pope has done constitutes slander”. President of the Directorate of Religious Affairs Mehmet Görmez, on the other hand, claimed that the Pope had made his statements on the Genocide under the influence of lobbies and PR companies.

Pope Francis’s use of the word ‘Genocide’ during Vatican mass commemorating 100th Anniversary of Armenian Genocide triggers crisis in Ankara.

Pope Francis uses the expression ‘Genocide’ during mass held in memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide.

İstanbul Bilgi University has made a statement regarding the blocking of the conference titled “The Armenian Genocide: Concepts and Comparative Perspectives” planned to be held at the university on April 26.

Raymond Kévorkian’s work ‘The Armenian Genocide’, a masterpiece in its field, has been published in Turkish by the İletişim Publishing House. In addition to how the book came about, we spoke to Kévorkian about Turkey’s policies regarding the Genocide.

The conference titled “The Armenian Genocide: Concepts and Comparative Perspectives” jointly organized by Istanbul Bilgi University, the History Foundation [Tarih Vakfı] and UCLA is being prevented from taking place.