Grief and discontent: Armenia marks Armenian genocide anniversary

A sea of flowers blanketed the cold concrete of the memorial to the Armenian genocide on the Tsitsernakaberd hill, overlooking the capital Yerevan. Tens of thousands went there on Thursday to mourn the victims of World War I-era mass murders of ethnic Armenians by the Ottoman Empire.

But this time, the annual Genocide Remembrance Day was marked not only with grief but also with some discontent that the Armenian government has stopped vociferously pushing for countries to recognize the massacres as genocide amid progress in relations with Azerbaijan and Turkey.

According to Yerevan, up to 1.5 million people died between 1915 and 1916, when the Ottoman authorities, struggling on the battlefield, carried out repressions against the Christian Armenian minority, whom it viewed as pro-Russian traitors.

They were either killed or sent on deadly marches into the Syrian desert, deprived of food and water.

Turkey does not recognize this as genocide and denies the murders were systemic. It estimates Armenian deaths at 300,000-500,000 and claims that as many Turks died in civil strife after many Armenians sided with invading Russian forces.

Armenia and its influential global diaspora have long advocated for international recognition, and to date, 34 countries, including the United States, France, Germany, Brazil, and Russia, have officially recognized the killings as genocide.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday, however, stopped short of using the term "genocide," saying instead that the American people "honor the memories of those wonderful souls who suffered in one of the worst disasters of the 20th century."

"What is our government even thinking?" said 72-year-old Aram Hayrapetyan as he slowly climbed the hill up to the memorial in a solemn procession.

"How can we trust Turkey, which openly supported Azerbaijan during the Karabakh war and still refuses to recognize the genocide?"

Relations between Ankara and Yerevan have been strained for decades over the massacres, which Armenia calls a genocide, and the Karabakh conflict, but Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has recently been pushing for a reset.

"We must not abandon the fight for international recognition -- for justice, and to ensure such a thing never happens again," added Hayrapetyan, who used to come to Tsitsernakaberd every year along with his wife, who recently died.

"She's gone, so I'm here for two today, and I'll keep coming as long as I have strength in my legs," he told AFP.

This year, the unusual absence of any major official events in Yerevan on Genocide Remembrance Day left many disheartened, especially after Pashinyan recently told Turkish media that seeking genocide recognition was no longer a priority for Armenia.

"We must be strong to make sure their blood wasn't spilled in vain and to keep the memory of them," said Mher Madoyan, a 76-year-old economist with powder-white thick hair.

AFP