ISTANBUL: Thousands of Turks and Armenians from around the globe have commemorated in Istanbul the centenary of the 1915 mass killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire.
Events organised by Turkish and foreign nongovernmental organisations were held in Istanbul throughout Friday to mark the anniversary of the killings.
The commemorations went ahead despite Turkey’s rejection of the term “genocide” to describe the killings, and as world leaders joined hundreds of thousands of Armenians in Yerevan, capital of Armenia, to commemorate the deaths.
Turkey earlier this month recalled its ambassadors to the Vatican and the Austrian capital of Vienna for consultations after they called the mass killings of 1915 a “genocide”.
The European Parliament also passed a non-binding resolution last week, calling Turkey to recognise the Armenian genocide, a move which prompted condemnation from Ankara.
In Taksim Square, the heart of Istanbul, an event attended by thousands of people and guarded by hundreds of security forces featured Armenian music and speeches by local and international community leaders.
Diclan Tarakci, a 52-year-old pensioner from Turkey who attended the commemoration, told Al Jazeera that she wanted Turkey to make peace with its past.
“Turkey is discussing the [Armenian] issue more today than yesterday. These are big steps, but there is still a long way to go. I am hopeful,” she said.
“My ancestors saved an Armenian child in 1915 by hiding him. They did not even know him,” she said.
Survivors’ accounts
Roxanne Nakashian, a 54-year-old publicist, travelled from San Francisco to Istanbul for the commemoration event.
“Both my grandparents are survivors of the Armenian genocide. They and some of my wider family members were able to escape from it with the help of good neighbours and luck.
“I am very moved by the commemoration events. I feel like this is where I belong. This is my ancestral homeland. I am glad to be here.”
Seta Papazian, 58, from France, told Al Jazeera that it was her second time in Istanbul to attend a commemoration.
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