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Iran's Armenians protest WW1 "genocide" in Turkey
TEHRAN, April 24 (Reuters) - Some 10,000 Iranian Armenians gathered in front of their cathedral in central Tehran on Tuesday to commemorate what they called the "genocide" committed against their ethnic kin in Turkey in 1915.
Turkey denies any genocide took place, saying instead that thousands of
Turks
and Armenians died in inter-ethnic violence as the Ottoman Empire fought a
Russian invasion of its eastern provinces during World War One.
"Death to the Fascist Turkish government," the crowds chanted "Turkey
commits
murder and the United States supports it."
"We demand the members of parliament condemn the Armenian genocide of 1915 and the occupation of western Armenia by Turkey," said a resolution by the protesters.
An MP representing Iran's 250,000-strong Armenian minority called for the government to formally recognise April 24 as Armenian genocide day.
Turkey has been embroiled in diplomatic spats with France, Italy and the
United States over similar moves to recognise the events of 1915 as
genocide,
but Iran has so far resisted officially condemning its western neighbour.
The protesters marched to the Tehran headquarters of the United Nations to press their demands.
A statement by the Turkish embassy in Tehran accused Armenian militants who sided with the Russian invaders during World War One of also committing atrocities inside Iran.
"Muslims, including Azeris and Kurds, also suffered immensely entailing
incalculable loss of life."
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