Armenians worldwide will mark the centenary of an Ottoman massacre of up to 1.5 million of their people on Friday, as tensions over Turkey’s refusal to recognise the killings as genocide reach boiling point. In a procession to a hilltop memorial in the capital Yerevan, Armenians will carry candles and flowers to lay at an eternal flame, as members of the diaspora that fled as a result of the slaughter commemorate the sombre anniversary in cities thousands of miles away.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Francois Hollande are expected to be among a handful of leaders to travel to Armenia for the commemorations, but others are shying away for fear of upsetting Ankara. In an unusual ceremony yesterday, the Armenian Church conferred sainthood on those massacred by Ottoman forces a century ago, in what was believed to be the biggest canonisation service in history.
More than 20 nations - including France and Russia - have so far recognised the Armenian genocide, a definition supported by many historians. German President Joachim Gauck was expected to draw an angry reaction from Turkey after he condemned the massacres as genocide for the first time, speaking at a religious service commemorating the bloodletting.
Gauck said the then German empire - the Ottoman Turkey's ally in WWI - bore "shared responsibility, possibly shared guilt for the genocide." Germany deployed soldiers who took part in "planning and, in part, carrying out the deportations", he said. Ankara on Wednesday recalled its ambassador to Vienna in response to Austrian lawmakers' decision to condemn the massacre as "genocide". Turkey has said up to 500,000 were killed, but mostly due to war and starvation, and rejects the use of that term.