'Islamist' Turkey Recalls Vatican Ambassador After Pope's Armenian Genocide statement. (
Aina).
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." (Hmmm.....Especially if you think you are 'superior')
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."
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