ISTANBUL.  – The participants of the event organized by the Istanbul branch of the Turkish Union of Human Rights (IHD) in front of the Museum of Turkish-Islamic works in Istanbul condemned the Armenian Genocide of 1915.

As the Turkish Bianet reports, the activists deployed the photographs of 200 Armenian intellectuals who were arrested and poisoned on April 24, 1915, and they were holding a poster which read ‘Genocide occurred in 1915 and Genocide is crime against humanities’.

Member of the Union Meld Cilgin announced that letters were sent to all Armenian Catholicos Karekin II and to the Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia Aram I where it is stated that IHD recognizes the Armenian Genocide and the property of the Armenians will be returned.

 The world commemorates on April 24 the 97th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, the first genocide of the 20th century.

Commemoration actions are held in all states, people remember this monstrous crime against humanity as over one and a half million innocent Armenians were massacred in the Ottoman Empire, while hundreds of thousands were tortured and deported.

The fact of the Armenian Genocide is recognized by many states. It was first recognized in 1965 by Uruguay. In general, the Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Turkey has already been recognized by Russia, France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, Lithuania, Slovakia, Switzerland, Sweden, Greece, Cyprus, Lebanon, Canada, Venezuela, Argentina, and 42 U.S. states.