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Killings of Armenians in Ottoman Empire 'genocide,' says American historian

Thousands of social facilities, churches and schools that once belonged to Armenians cannot be seen in Anatolia today, providing more convincing evidence than written documents that the World War I-era killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire constitute "genocide," an American historian said yesterday.

“Although there were around two million Armenian people living in Anatolia during the Ottoman Empire before 1915, today it is not possible to find any historical or social mark reminding them,” said Ara Sarafian, head of Gomidas Institute in London, an organization that carries out research on Armenian history.

Sarafian was speaking at a conference titled “What happened on April 24, 1915?” held in Istanbul by the Istanbul branch of the Human Rights Association (İHD).

Several intellectuals discussed the "genocide" claims of Armenians and argued that Turkey has to face its history without ignoring or denying the truth.

“All of us, who kept quiet and did not resist to the killings of Armenians are guilty, no matter what you call what was done toward the Armenian people living in the Ottoman Empire; genocide or injustice,” said Eren Keskin, a lawyer.
Read entire article at Turkish Daily News