In Armenia, the plea rang out: never forget our tragedy

Putin and Hollande take pride of place as a nation mourns, reports Andrew Connelly from Yerevan

Francois Hollande and Vladimir Putin in Yerevan (AFP/Getty Images)

A solemn plea to ensure that no genocide was ever forgotten rang out on a hilltop high above the Armenian capital, Yerevan, as the country’s president led a ceremony to mark 100 years since 1.5 million Armenians died at the hands of the Ottoman Empire.

Speaking under a heavy grey sky, President Serzh Sargsyan said he hoped the event would end “the hundred year darkness of denial”, and reminded the world to also remember other genocides in Rwanda, Cambodia and elsewhere, as well as the Nazi Holocaust. “Recognition of the genocide is a triumph of human conscience and justice over intolerance and hatred,” he said.

More than 60 international delegations were present, including French President Francois Hollande and Russian President Vladimir Putin as well as a group of Turkish intellectuals whose presence was a repudiation of their own government’s continued denial that the Armenian massacres were genocide.

The newly-constructed Tsitsernakaberd memorial complex features a ring of grey tapered slabs pointing up to the sky, with an eternal flame at the centre next to a soaring 450ft shard of granite. Leaders laid yellow flowers to form a wreath in the shape of a forget-me-not, the symbol that was yesterday ubiquitous around the streets of Yerevan.

Russia is ex-Soviet Armenia’s closest ally and Mr Putin echoed his host’s words. “There cannot be any justification for mass murder… the international community must do everything in its power to ensure that these events don’t happen again.” Mr Hollande said that recognising the genocide was itself “an act of peace”.

Turkey has consistently disputed the charge that the Ottomans engaged in a systematic campaign of extermination, debates the death toll, and stresses that many innocent Turks were also killed during First World War clashes. Speaking at a religious ceremony at the Armenian Patriarchate in Istanbul, Turkish President Raycep Erodgan said that he “sincerely” shared the pain of the Armenians.

Currently 25 countries officially recognise the 1915 events as a genocide, not including Britain. Many governments have been forced into an awkward position this week, as leaders deploy a flurry of euphemisms to describe the killings.

Avedis Diban, who works for a telecommunications company in Yerevan, laid flowers by the flame as the rain began to fall. He said: “The Ottoman Empire used to say they would ensure that there was only one Armenian left. Well, they failed. But, despite what happened in the past, we need to have relationships with our neighbours. Turkey needs to recognise the genocide, but we should also have dialogue.”

There was a minute’s silence as church bells rang out, and after the official proceedings the gates were opened and thousands walked towards the flame to honour their fallen ancestors.