Armenian Genocide centenary: Candlelight vigil held outside White House

On April 23, the Armenian community in the United States held a candlelight vigil outside the White House demanding that President Barack Obama recognize the Armenian Genocide, Voice of America reports.

The participants of the vigil noted that the recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide are necessary not only from the moral point of view, but also for the prevention of further genocides.

The Armenian Genocide has been recognized and condemned by Uruguay (1965), the Republic of Cyprus (1982), Argentina (1993), Russia (1995), Canada (1996), Greece (1996), Lebanon (1997), Belgium (1998), Italy (2000), Vatican (2000), France (2001), Switzerland (2003), Slovakia (2004), The Netherlands (2004), Poland (2005), Germany (2005), Venezuela (2005), Lithuania (2005), Chile (2007), Sweden (2010), Bolivia (2014). The Armenian Genocide has been recognized by the Vatican, the European Parliament and the World Council of Churches. 43 of 50 U.S. states have recognized and condemned the Armenian Genocide. Parliaments of several European countries have adopted laws criminalizing the denial of the Armenian Genocide.

Turkey, however, denies the fact of the Armenian Genocide.