An event on Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day will be held at Public Library in Prague, Czech Republic on Sunday.

An Easter service and a service in remembrance of the Genocide victims will be held in the city of Tsikhlava on Sunday, Orer European monthly magazine reports.

Editor of the monthly Hakob Asatryan told Armenian News-NEWS.am that no meetings and rallies are planned.

“The Czech Republic is on close terms with Turkey, in particular, economic relations between the two countries are at a high level. It hinders the Czech government and parliament to be seriously engaged in recognition of the Armenian Genocide,” Asatryan said.

According to him, the work towards the recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide is underway and the Czech press covers this issue broadly.

“Political changes in Turkey within the recent years show that the time will come and the Turkish government will also recognize the Armenian Genocide. We could not even imagine ten years ago that 20% of the Turkish Government is aware of the Armenian Genocide,” he noted.

During World War I, the Turkish authorities accused Armenians of showing favor to Russia and used it as a pretext for declaring the Armenian population the nation’s enemy. Many historians consider the events in 1915-1923 as a state-sponsored massacre, genocide. The Armenian side claims over 1.5 million victims, half of the Armenians early in the 20th century.

Many states have recognized the Armenian Genocide. Uruguay was the first to do it in 1965. The Armenian Genocide has since been recognized by Russia, France, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, Lithuania, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, Greece, Cyprus, Lebanon, Canada, Venezuela, Argentina, as well as by 42 of the U.S. states. The Armenian Genocide has also been recognized by Vatican, the European Parliament, and World Church Council.

The Committee on Foreign Affairs of the U.S. House of Representatives approved an Armenian Genocide resolution on March 4.