Worcester Telegram, MA
April 12 2015
Turkey recalls ambassador after pope calls Armenian slaughter genocide
By Nicole Winfield THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis on Sunday called the slaughter of
Armenians by Ottoman Turks ”the first genocide of the 20th century”
and urged the international community to recognize it as such,
sparking a diplomatic rift with Turkey at a delicate time in
Christian-Muslim relations.
Armenian President Serge Sarkisian, 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 in an interview with The
Associated Press. But Turkey, which has long denied a genocide took
place, recalled its ambassador to the Holy See in protest.
”The pope’s statement, which is far from historic and legal truths,
is unacceptable,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu tweeted.
”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
honor 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 honoring the centenary.
In a subsequent message directed to all Armenians, Francis called on
all heads of state and international organizations to recognize the
truth of what transpired to prevent such ”horrors” from happening
again, and to 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 World War I, an event widely viewed
by scholars as the first genocide of the 20th century.
Turkey, however, has insisted that the toll has been inflated, and
that those killed were victims of civil war and unrest, not genocide.
It has fiercely lobbied to prevent countries, including the Holy See,
from officially recognizing the Armenian massacre as genocide.
Turkey’s embassy to the Holy See canceled a planned news conference
for Sunday, presumably after learning that the pope would utter the
word ”genocide” over its objections. Instead, the Foreign Ministry
in Ankara summoned the Vatican’s envoy, and then announced it was
recalling its own ambassador to the Vatican for consultations.
In a statement, it said the Turkish people would not recognize 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.”
Francis’ words had a more positive effect in St. Peters, where the
head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Aram I thanked Francis for his
clear condemnation and recalled that ”genocide” is a crime against
humanity that requires reparation.
”International law spells out clearly that condemnation, recognition
and reparation of a genocide are closely interconnected,” Aram said
in English at the end of the Mass to applause from the pews, where
many wept.
In an interview with the AP after the Mass, the Armenian president,
Sarkisian, 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 have already come to the conclusion
and there is ”no doubt at all that what happened was a genocide.”
Several European countries recognize the massacres as genocide, though
Italy and the United States, for example, have avoided using the term
officially given the importance they place on Turkey as an ally.
The Holy See, too, places great importance in its relationship with
the moderate Muslim nation, especially as it demands Muslim leaders
condemn the slaughter of Christians by Muslim extremists in
neighboring Iraq and Syria.
But Francis’ willingness to rile Ankara with his words showed once
again that he has few qualms about taking diplomatic risks for issues
close to his heart. He took a similar risk by inviting the Israeli and
Palestinian presidents to pray together for peace at the Vatican — a
summit that was followed by the outbreak of fighting in the Gaza
Strip.
Francis is not the first pope to call the massacre a genocide. In his
remarks, Francis cited a 2001 declaration signed by St. John Paul II
and the Armenian church leader, Karenkin II, which said the deaths
were considered ”the first genocide of the 20th century.”
But the context of Francis’ pronunciation was different and
significant: He uttered the words during an Armenian rite Mass in St.
Peter’s marking the 100th anniversary of the slaughter, alongside the
Armenian Catholic patriarch, Nerses Bedros XIX Tarmouni, Armenian
Christian church leaders and Sarkisian, who sat in a place of honor in
the basilica.
The definition of genocide has long been contentious. The United
Nations in 1948 defined genocide as killing and other acts intended to
destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, but many
dispute which mass killings should be called genocide and whether the
terms of the U.N. convention on genocide can be applied retroactively.
Reaction to the pope’s declaration on the streets in Istanbul was
mixed. Some said they supported it, but others did not agree.
”I don’t support the word genocide being used by a great religious
figure who has many followers,” said Mucahit Yucedal, 25. ”Genocide
is a serious allegation.”