Turkey furious as pope terms killings as genocide

Pope Francis yesterday uttered the word "genocide" to describe the mass murder of Armenians 100 years ago, sparking fury from Turkey which slammed the term as "far from historical reality".

In a solemn mass in Saint Peter's Basilica to mark the centenary of the Ottoman killings of Armenians, Francis said the murders were "widely considered 'the first genocide of the 20th century'," quoting a statement signed by Pope John Paul II and the Armenian patriarch in 2001.

Many historians describe the World War I slaughter as the 20th century's first genocide, but Turkey vehemently denies the accusations.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu lashed out at Francis for "inappropriate" and "one-sided" comments, saying that "to read these sorrows in a one-sided way is inappropriate for the pope and the authority that he holds."

A furious Ankara said it was recalling its ambassador to the Vatican, Mehmet Pacaci, for consultations.

While Francis did not use his own words to describe the killings as genocide, it was the first time the term was spoken aloud in connection with Armenia by a head of the Roman Catholic Church in Saint Peter's Basilica.

Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their kin were killed between 1915 and 1917 as the Ottoman Empire was falling apart, and have long sought to win international recognition of the massacres as genocide.

But Turkey rejects the claims, arguing that 300,000 to 500,000 Armenians and as many Turks died in civil strife when Armenians rose up against their Ottoman rulers and sided with invading Russian troops.

More than 20 nations, including France and Russia, recognise the killings as genocide.

The Armenian victims a century ago were Christian and although the killings were not openly driven by religious motives, the pontiff drew comparisons with modern Christian refugees fleeing Islamic militants.