12/04/2015

Le Pape François a reconnu ce matin le génocide arménien en tant que tel


Séisme en Turquie...

 En réaction, la Turquie rappelle son ambassadeur au Vatican :

   Ankara, 12 avr 2015 (AFP) - La Turquie a annoncé dimanche qu'elle rappelait pour consultations son ambassadeur au Vatican, après les déclarations du pape qui  a employé, pour la première fois, le terme de "génocide" à propos des massacres des Arméniens il y a 100 ans.
   "Notre ambassadeur au Vatican, Mr Mehmet Pacaci, est rappelé en Turquie pour consultations", a annoncé le ministère des Affaires étrangères dans un communiqué.

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Read more - In French and English:

@AFP: #UPDATE: the pope used the word during a mass to mark the centenary of the Ottoman Turk killings of Armenians http://t.co/CptB2150kc


@RFI: #urgent Vatican: le pape François utilise le mot «génocide» autour du massacre des Arméniens de L'Empire Ottoman au début du 20e siècle http://t.co/LJlPu5KGGN


@melissachemam: RT @guardian: #Pope Francis calls #Armenian slaughter 'first #genocide of 20th century' http://t.co/WTxNNLxLOe

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Le pape François évoque le « génocide » arménien

Le Monde.fr avec AFP et AP |  • Mis à jour le 
Le terme est en train de provoquer un incident diplomatique. Dimanche 12 avril, dans le cadre solennel de la basilique Saint-Pierre de Rome, le souverain pontife a utilisé publiquement pour la première fois le terme hautement symbolique de « génocide » pour qualifier le massacre des Arméniens perpétré il y a cent ans. Sans surprise, la réaction de la Turquie ne s'est guère fait attendre : Ankara a convoqué à la mi-journée l'ambassadeur du Vatican pour évoquer la question et a ensuite rappelé son propre ambassadeur au Vatican.
« Au siècle dernier, notre famille humaine a traversé trois tragédies massives et sans précédent. La première, qui est largement considérée comme “le premier génocide du XXe siècle”, a frappé votre peuple arménien », a déclaré le pape lors d'une messe prononcée pour le centenaire du génocide (1915-1917) à l'invitation de l'Eglise catholique arménienne, citant un document signé par son prédécesseur Jean Paul II en 2001.« Occulter ou nier le mal, c'est laisser une blessure ouverte saigner sans la panser », a-t-il expliqué en ouvrant la cérémonie, en présidence du président arménien Serge Sarkissian et du patriarche Nersès Bedros XIX des Arméniens catholiques.

Une première publique


Probablement informée par avance des intentions de François, l'ambassade turque au Saint-Siège a annulé une conférence de presse prévue dimanche. Sur le réseau social Twitter, le ministre des affaires étrangères turc, Mevlut Cavusoglu, a jugé quant à lui « sans fondement » et « loin de la réalité historique » l'utilisation par le pape François du mot « génocide ».
Même si Jean Paul II avait déjà utilisé le terme, à l'écrit, le terme dans une déclaration commune avec le patriarche arménien Karenkin II, c'est la première fois qu'il est prononcé publiquement par un pontife.

(...)

Une « main tendue » encore timide

Des propos qui avaient alors provoqué une vive réaction du gouvernement islamo-conservateur turc. « Ce que l'on attend du pape, c'est qu'il contribue à la paix dans le monde, avec toute la responsabilité de la place spirituelle qu'il occupe, pas qu'il ressorte des différends du passé », avait déclaré le ministre des affaires étrangères turc, jugeant sa déclaration « inacceptable » et susceptible d'« affecter de façon irréparable les relations bilatérales » entre le Vatican et Ankara.
Les Arméniens estiment que 1,5 million des leurs ont été tués entre 1915 et 1917, à la fin de l'Empire ottoman. Nombre d'historiens et plus d'une vingtaine de pays, dont la France, l'Italie et la Russie, ont reconnu un génocide. La Turquie affirme pour sa part qu'il s'agissait d'une guerre civile dans laquelle de 300 000 à 500 000 Arméniens et autant de Turcs ont trouvé la mort.
Le gouvernement turc a néanmoins fait quelques gestes de repentance, comme des condoléances présentées en 2014 par le premier ministre Recep Tayyip Erdogan, aujourd'hui président de la Turquie, aux descendants des victimes.
A l'occasion de son voyage en Turquie, en novembre dernier, le pape François avait salué le geste d'Erdogan, qu'il avait qualifié de « main tendue » et appelé à la réconciliation. De son côté, l'Eglise apostolique arménienne a l'intention de canoniser collectivement, le 23 avril prochain, les victimes d'un massacre perpétré à l'initiative du gouvernement des « Jeunes Turcs » d'alors, qui fit plus d'un million et demi de morts dans les rangs de la population arménienne et d'autres minorités chrétiennes.

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Pope Francis calls Armenian slaughter 'first genocide of 20th century'

(Guardian) 

Pontiff’s comments are likely to anger Turkey, which denies that the deaths 100 years ago constituted genocide

Pope Francis marked the 100th anniversary of the slaughter of Armenians by calling it “the first genocide of the 20th century” – a politically explosive pronouncement that is likely to anger Turkey.
Francis, who has close ties to the Armenian community from his days in Argentina, defended his pronouncement by saying it was his duty to honour the memory of the men, women, children, priests and bishops who were “senselessly” murdered.
“Concealing or denying evil is like allowing a wound to keep bleeding without bandaging it,” he said at the start of mass on Sunday in the Armenian Catholic rite in St Peter’s Basilica honouring the centenary.
Historians estimate that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks around the time of the first world war, in what is widely viewed by genocide scholars as the first genocide of the 20th century. However, Turkey denies that the deaths constituted genocide, saying that the toll has been inflated and that those killed were victims of civil war and unrest.
Turkey’s embassy to the Holy See cancelled a press conference planned for Sunday, presumably after learning that the pope would utter the word “genocide” over its objections.
Several European countries recognise the massacres as genocide, though Italy and the United States have avoided using the term officially given the importance they place on Turkey as an ally.


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Turkey anger at Pope Francis Armenian 'genocide' claim


BBC:


Turkey has criticised Pope Francis for using the word "genocide" to describe the mass killing of Armenians under Ottoman rule in World War 1.
Ankara immediately summoned the Vatican's envoy after the Pope made the comments at a service in Rome.
Turkey's Foreign Minister described it as "far from the historical reality".
Armenia and many historians say up to 1.5 million people were killed by Ottoman forces in 1915. Turkey has always disputed the number of dead.
The dispute has continued to sour relations between Armenia and Turkey.

'Bleeding wound'

The Pope made the comments at a Mass in the Armenian Catholic rite at Peter's Basilica, attended by the Armenian president and church leaders.
He said that humanity had lived through "three massive and unprecedented tragedies" in the last century.
"The first, which is widely considered 'the first genocide of the 20th Century', struck your own Armenian people," he said, in a form of words used by a declaration by Pope John Paul II in 2001.
Pope Francis also referred to the crimes "perpetrated by Nazism and Stalinism" and said other genocides had followed in Cambodia, Rwanda, Burundi and Bosnia.
He said it was his duty to honour the memories of those who were killed.
"Concealing or denying evil is like allowing a wound to keep bleeding without bandaging it," the Pope added.

Members of the Armenian clergy at the ceremony - 12 April
Many members of the Armenian clergy were at the ceremony
A person looks at portraits and a sign reading "1915 is a Genocide. Genocide is a crimes against humanity" during a demonstration on 24 April 2013 in Istanbul
Turkey rejects the use of the term "genocide" to describe the 1915 mass killings of Armenians

Turkey said it summoned the Vatican's ambassador to Ankara, Archbishop Antonino Lucibello, to seek an explanation over the comments.
The foreign ministry said it felt "great disappointment and sadness" at the Pope's remarks, which it said would cause a "problem of trust" between them.
"The Pope's statement, which is far from the legal and historical reality, cannot be accepted," tweeted Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.
"Religious authorities are not the places to incite resentment and hatred with baseless allegations," he added.

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Armenian clergy at the ceremony in St Peter's Rome - 12 April

Analysis: David Willey, BBC News, Rome

Pope Francis, who visited Turkey last year, would have been perfectly conscious that he would offend the moderate Muslim country by his use of the word "genocide".
But the Pope's powerful phrase "concealing or denying evil is like allowing a wound to bleed without bandaging it" extended his condemnation to all other, more recent, mass killings.
It now remains to be seen how far his remarks will impact upon the Vatican's future relations with moderate Muslim states. It was a bold decision but totally coherent with Pope Francis' philosophy of open discussion about moral arguments.
Pope Francis' focus today on Armenia, the first country to adopt Christianity as its state religion, even before the conversion of the Roman Emperor Constantine, serves as yet another reminder of the Catholic Church's widely spread roots in Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

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'Political conflict'

In 2014, for the first time, Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan offered condolences to the grandchildren of all the Armenians who lost their lives.
But he also said that it was inadmissible for Armenia to turn the issue "into a matter of political conflict".
Armenia says up to 1.5 million people died in 1915-16 as the Ottoman empire split. Turkey has said the number of deaths was much smaller.
Most non-Turkish scholars of the events regard them as genocide. Among the other states which formally recognise them as genocide are Argentina, Belgium, Canada, France, Italy, Russia and Uruguay.
Turkey maintains that many of the dead were killed in clashes during World War I, and that ethnic Turks also suffered in the conflict.



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