Hundreds of thousands of Armenians died in 1915 at the hands of the Ottoman Turks, whose empire was disintegrating.
Many of the victims were civilians deported to barren desert regions where they died of starvation and thirst. Thousands also died in massacres.
Armenia says up to 1.5 million people were killed. Turkey says the number of deaths was much smaller.
Most non-Turkish scholars of the events regard them as genocide – as do more than 20 states, including France, Germany, Canada and Russia, and various international bodies including the European Parliament.
Turkey rejects the term “genocide”, maintaining that many of the dead were killed in clashes during World War One, and that many ethnic Turks also suffered in the conflict.
Armenia marks the centenary of the start of mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks.
Presidents Vladimir Putin and Francois Hollande joined other leaders at the memorial for the victims on the outskirts of Armenia’s capital, Yerevan.
Armenia says up to 1.5 million people died, a figure disputed by Turkey.
Turkey objects to the use of the term “genocide” to describe the killings.
The issue has soured relations between Armenia and Turkey.
Turkey accepts that atrocities were committed but argues there was no systematic attempt to destroy the Christian Armenian people. It says many innocent Muslim Turks also died in the turmoil of war.
A memorial service will also be held in Turkey on April 24 and PM Ahmet Davutoglu has said the country will “share the pain” of Armenians.
However, Ahmet Davutoglu reiterated Turkey’s stance that the killings were not genocide.
Turkey is also hosting ceremonies to mark the 100th anniversary of the start of the Battle of Gallipoli.
However, the actual fighting in Gallipoli began on April 25, and Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has accused Turkey of “trying to divert world attention” from the Yerevan commemorations.
After the flower-laying ceremony in Yerevan, Serzh Sargsyan addressed the guests, saying: “I am grateful to all those who are here to once again confirm your commitment to human values, to say that nothing is forgotten, that after 100 years we remember.”
France’s President Francois Hollande said: “We will never forget the tragedies that your people have endured.”
April 24 marks the 100th anniversary of the day the Ottoman Turkey authorities arrested several hundred Armenian intellectuals in Constantinople, today’s Istanbul, most of whom were later killed.
The Armenians regard this as the beginning of the Ottoman policy of mass extermination of Christian Armenians suspected of supporting Russia, the Ottoman Empire’s World War One enemy.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is also among those attending the ceremonies.
President Barack Obama issued a carefully worded statement for the anniversary, referring to “one of the worst atrocities of the 20th Century”, without using the term “genocide”.
During his 2008 presidential election campaign, then senator Barack Obama had vowed to “recognize the Armenian genocide” and in his new statement said: “I have consistently stated my own view of what occurred in 1915, and my view has not changed.”
However, Barack Obama’s phrasing has angered Armenian Americans.
Bryan Ardouny, executive director of the Armenian Assembly of America, said in a statement: “President Obama’s exercise in linguistic gymnastics on the Armenian genocide is unbecoming of the standard he himself set and that of a world leader today.”
On April 23, the Armenian Church canonized the 1.5 million people it says were killed in the massacres and deportations.
The church said it wanted to proclaim the martyrdom of those who died for their faith and homeland.
After the ceremony, bells tolled in Armenian churches around the world.
Also on April 23, German President Joachim Gauck described the killings as genocide, on the eve of a debate in the German parliament on the issue.
Earlier this month, Turkey recalled its envoy to the Vatican after Pope Francis also used the word “genocide” in a reference at a Mass at St Peter’s Basilica.
France has been a strong advocate of recognizing the killings as genocide and President Francois Hollande has pushed for a law to punish genocide denial. The issue has strained Franco-Turkish relations.
Turkey has offered condolences for the first time for the mass killings of Armenians under Ottoman rule during WWI.
PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s condolences came on the eve of the 99th anniversary of the mass deportation of Armenians in 1915.
Turkey denies Armenian claims that up to 1.5 million people were killed and that it constituted an act of genocide.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the events of 1915 had “inhumane consequences”, and expressed hope that those who died were at peace.
Turkey maintains that many of the dead were killed in clashes during World War I, and that ethnic Turks also suffered in the conflict.
The exact nature of what happened remains highly contentious and has continued to sour relations between Turkey and Armenia.
In his message, Recep Tayyip Erdogan stopped short of using the term “genocide” to describe the mass killings.
Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan has offered condolences for the first time for the mass killings of Armenians under Ottoman rule during WWI
The prime minister struck a conciliatory tone in his statement on Wednesday, in which he offered Turkey’s condolences to the grandchildren of Armenians who lost their lives in 1915.
In the statement, which was translated into nine languages including Armenian, Recep Tayyip Erdogan described the events of World War I as “our shared pain”.
“Having experienced events which had inhumane consequences – such as relocation – during the First World War, (it) should not prevent Turks and Armenians from establishing compassion and mutually humane attitudes among towards one another,” he said.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan said “millions of people of all religions and ethnicities lost their lives in the First World War”.
But he said it was “inadmissible” for Armenia to use the 1915 events “as an excuse for hostility against Turkey” and to turn the issue “into a matter of political conflict”.
It is the first time a Turkish leader has formally offered condolences for the mass killings.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan also repeated calls to set up a joint historical commission into the events surrounding the killings – a request that has so far been denied by the Armenian authorities.
There has been a slight thaw in relations between Turkey and Armenia in recent years.
The governments of Turkey and Armenia agreed to normalize relations in October 2009, but peace efforts have since stalled and the border remains shut.
Last year, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu called the 1915-16 events a “mistake” during Turkey’s first high-level visit to Armenia in almost five years.
Armenia says up to 1.5 million people died in 1915-1916 as the Ottoman empire split. Turkey has said the number of deaths was much smaller.
The killings are regarded as the seminal event of modern Armenian history, uniting one of the world’s most dispersed peoples.
Among the other states which formally recognize them as genocide are Argentina, Belgium, Canada, France, Italy, Russia and Uruguay. The UK, US, Israel and others use different terminology.
Armenians mark the date of April 24, 1915, as the start of what they regard as the genocide.
France’s President Francois Hollande has said he plans a new law to punish denial that the 1915-1916 killing of Armenians was genocide.
A previous law approved by the French parliament was struck down in February by the Constitutional Council, which said it infringed freedom of speech.
Turkey rejects the term “genocide” for the deaths of Armenians during their deportation by the Ottoman Empire.
The issue has strained Franco-Turkish relations in recent years.
Francois Hollande’s predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy had also ordered his government to draft a new law after the old one was struck down.
“Francois Hollande has again expressed his willingness to propose a bill designed to curb the denial of the Armenian genocide, as he had said during his campaign and even before,” the Coordinating Council of Armenian Organisations of France (CCAF) told the AFP news agency.
Francois Hollande has said he plans a new law to punish denial that the 1915-1916 killing of Armenians was genocide
A delegation from the CCAF will meet Francois Hollande before the end of the month to discuss what form the new law would take, French media reports say.
On Thursday, remarks by French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius during a meeting with his Turkish counterpart appeared to indicate that the Constitutional Council’s ruling would make it impossible to take up the issue again.
However, Francois Hollande’s office said on Saturday: “The president expressed his commitments during the campaign. He will keep them.
“We must find a path, a road that allows for a text that is consistent with the constitution.”
The vote on the previous bill in January spurred angry protests in both in Paris and Ankara. The Turkish government suspended political and military co-operation with France.
The Turkish government argues that judging what happened in eastern Turkey in 1915-1916 should be left to historians, and that the new French law would have restricted freedom of speech.
Armenia says up to 1.5 million people died in 1915-1916 as the Ottoman empire split. Turkey has said the number of deaths was much smaller.
The killings are regarded as the seminal event of modern Armenian history, a tragic bond uniting one of the world’s most dispersed peoples.
Among the other states which formally recognize them as genocide are Argentina, Belgium, Canada, France, Italy, Russia and Uruguay. The UK, US, Israel and others use different terminology.
France is home to an estimated 500,000 ethnic Armenians while about 550,000 Turkish citizens also live in the country.
Competing laws:
• Both the Holocaust and killing of the Armenians are recognized as acts of genocide in France
• Denial of the Holocaust is punishable under the 1990 Gayssot law, which is based on the findings of the Nuremberg Tribunal
• Some legal experts argue that unless the Armenian killings are formally recognized as an act of genocide by an international commission their denial cannot be made punishable
• In the absence of international certification, some legal experts argue the term “Armenian genocide” may be challenged on grounds of freedom of speech
• French MPs argued they had sufficient authority to legislate both on acts of genocide and their denial
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