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Armenians refocus on reparations after genocide anniversary

Turkey’s Armenian issue will grow even more complicated with the anticipated demands from Yerevan and the Armenian diaspora for compensation and restitution of property.
The Church of the Holy Cross, an Armenian church on Akdamar Island in Lake Van, is seen near the eastern Turkish city of Van June 27, 2010. Now a state museum, it has become the latest symbol of the difficult reconciliation between the Armenia and Turkey as the latter prepares to open the site for a one-day religious service next month. Muslim Turkey and Christian Armenia are bitterly divided over their troubled history and the border remains closed despite U.S.-brokered peace accords signed last year. Pict
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Every year on April 24, the day commonly accepted as the beginning of the Armenian genocide, Ankara vehemently refuses to recognize the 1915 massacre and deportation of Ottoman Armenians living in Anatolia as genocide, and focuses on Washington and whether the US president will use the word "genocide" in his April 24 message. As this year was the centennial of the Armenian genocide, Ankara and the Armenian diaspora as well as Yerevan paid special attention to the matter. The general expectation was that even though it is the centennial, President Barack Obama would not want to damage bilateral ties with Turkey. This is in fact what happened, and Obama did not say the word.

From Ankara’s viewpoint, Obama's refraining from saying "genocide" meant that the campaign for international recognition was over without inflicting heavy damages to Turkey.

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