Turkey •

Armenians from all around the world are marking the 100 years commemoration of the Ottoman killings of up to 1.5 million of their people. Turkey still refuses to recognize the act as genocide.

In a procession to a memorial in the capital Yerevan, Armenians will lay candles and flowers near an eternal flame, as members of the diaspora, relatives of those who fled the country from the slaughter commemorate the sad anniversary.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President Francois Hollande are expected to travel to Armenia for the commemorations, but others important world leaders are not going to attend the ceremony, fearing it will upset Ankara.

In an unusual procession on Thursday, the Armenian Church offered sainthood to all those massacred by Ottoman fighters a century ago, in the largest canonization service in history.

More than 20 states have so far recognized the Armenian genocide, a definition which is supported by many historians.

German President Joachim Gauck angered Turkey after he called the massacres as genocide for the first time, during a religious service commemorating the events that happened a century ago.

Mr Gauck explained the then German empire, which was allied to Ottoman Turkey in WWI, “shared responsibility and possibly guilt for the genocide”, adding that Germany sent soldiers who “planned and, in part, carrying out the deportations”.

Ankara on Wednesday issued a recall for its ambassador in Austria in response to Viennese lawmakers’ act to condemn the killings as “genocide”.

Turkey has said that half a million of people were killed during those events, mostly due to starvation and war. The country rejects the use the term genocide.

US President Barack Obama on Thursday described the World War I massacre as “terrible carnage”, not mentioning the world genocide. Commemorations expected to draw millions of people in Yerevan, but also in cities like Paris, Los Angeles and others where important Armenian minorities are found. The events will come a day after the canonization service for the 1.5 million Armenians that most historians suggest to have perished in the massacre.

Ex-Soviet Armenia, along with the Armenian diaspora worldwide, have fought for decades for the recognition of the Ottoman Genocide, which took place between 1915 and 1917. But modern Turkey, which was came to exist after the Ottoman Empire collapsed, has refused to admit its past crimes, while relations between the two countries remain frozen to this day.

Image Source: Time To Analyze

Thousands of residents from this quiet town stood in a candlelight vigil at Chapel Hill, NC where three Muslim students will be buried. Authorities are still trying to figure out if the killing was for a parking space dispute or religious hatred played a role.

Deah Shaddy Barakat, a 23-year-old dental student, his wife Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, 21; and her sister Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, 19, of Raleigh were killed allegedly by their neighbor Craig Stephen Hicks. The Funeral will take place at Raleigh at 1.30 PM.

Police had ruled out .the possibility of religious hatred initially and investigation has revealed that the killing was a culmination of a long-simmering dispute.

All the victims were of Syrian origin and were born in the US and grew up in North Carolina region.

Deah Shaddy and Yusor Mohammad were recently married and were socially very active. They had volunteered to help the homeless and also helped to raise money for Syrian minorities in Turkey who had fled persecution in ISIS controlled Syria and Iraq.

The couple had met while helping to run the Muslim Student Association at N.C. State before Shaddy decided to pursue higher studies degree in dentistry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Yusor Mohammad also planned to join her husband in dentistry school in the fall.

Ali Sajjad, 21, the president of the Muslim Student Association at N.C. State said,” This was like the power couple of our community.”

The killing sent shock waves across the seemingly quiet town and as many as 2000 persons stood for a candlelight vigil in the heart of University of North Carolina campus Wednesday evening.

Craig Stephen Hicks, 46, faces charges of three counts of first-degree murder and is being held without bond.

Local authorities were at pains to explain that every aspect of this senseless and brutal act is being investigated.

Chris Blue of the Chapel Hill Police Department said, “We understand the concerns about the possibility that this was hate-motivated and we will exhaust every lead to determine if that is the case. Our thoughts are with the families and friends of these young people who lost their lives so needlessly.”

Armenians Marks Centenary Of The Massacre By Ottoman Turks

Candlelight vigil for 3 Muslims killed in N.C

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