Turkey fury at Pope's appeal to world to recognise Armenian 'genocide'
Ankara recalls its Vatican envoy after Francis calls on world to recognise the mass slaughter of Armenians around the time of the first world war
Pope Francis yesterday called the slaughter of Armenians by Ottoman Turks "the first genocide of the 20th century" and urged the international community to recognise it as such, sparking a diplomatic rift with Turkey at a delicate time in Christian-Muslim relations.
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, who was on hand to mark the 100th anniversary of the slaughter at a Mass in St. Peter's Basilica, praised the pope for calling a spade a spade.
But Turkey, which has long denied a genocide took place, said it was recalling its ambassador to the Vatican, after earlier summoning the Vatican's envoy to Ankara to the ministry.
The Foreign Ministry said the Turkish people would not recognise the Pope's statement "which is controversial in every aspect, which is based on prejudice, which distorts history and reduces the pains suffered in Anatolia under the conditions of the first world war to members of just one religion".
Earlier, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu tweeted: "The pope's statement which is far from historic and legal truths is unacceptable. Religious positions are not places where unfounded claims are made and hatred is stirred."
Francis, who has close ties to the Armenian community from his days in Argentina, defended his pronouncement by saying it was his duty to honour the memory of the innocent men, women and children who were "senselessly" murdered by Ottoman Turks.
"Concealing or denying evil is like allowing a wound to keep bleeding without bandaging it," he said at the start of a Mass in the Armenian Catholic rite honouring the centenary.
In a subsequent message directed to all Armenians, Francis called on all heads of state and international organisations to recognise the truth of what transpired to prevent it from happening again, and oppose such crimes "without ceding to ambiguity or compromise."
Historians estimate that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks around the time of the first world war, an event widely viewed by scholars as the first genocide of the 20th century.
Turkey, however, insists the toll has been inflated, and those killed were victims of civil war and unrest, not genocide.
It has fiercely lobbied to prevent countries from officially recognising the massacre as genocide.
In St. Peters, the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Aram I thanked Francis for his clear condemnation and recalled that "genocide" was a crime against humanity that required reparation.
"International law spells out clearly that condemnation, recognition and reparation of a genocide are closely interconnected," Aram said to applause from the pews, where many wept.
In an interview, the Armenian president, Sargsyan, praised Francis for "calling things by their names."
He acknowledged the reparation issue, but said "for our people, the primary issue is universal recognition of the Armenian genocide, including recognition by Turkey."
He dismissed Turkish calls for joint research into what transpired, saying researchers and commissions had already come to the conclusion and there was "no doubt at all that what happened was a genocide."
