President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner today received the Prelate of the Armenian Apostolic Church and other leading representatives of the community, following pope Francis’ recognition of the Armenian genocide at the hands of Turkey on the centenary of the event.
The head of state’s encounter with leaders of the Argentine-Armenian community took place in the midst of strong criticism from Turkey against the pope and the Argentine government, due to the nation’s refusal to admit to genocide in 1915.
Archbishop Kissag Mouradian headed the delegation that met with CFK in Olivos today, in order to express her solidarity with the community on the 100th anniversary of the massacre which took at least 1.5 million Armenian lives, according to historical studies.
Argentina is one of 22 states which recognises that attack as genocide and on Sunday the Catholic Church, through the pope’s declarations, also used that description – a statement which provoked a stinging rebuke from the Turkish government against the Pontiff and the CFK administration.
Along with strong words from president Tayyip Erdogan, one of the fiercest criticisms came from European Union minister Volkan Bozkir. The politician stated that Francis was from Argentina «a country that welcomed the nazis who were the main authors of the Jewish Holocaust.»
«Regretfully, in Argentina the Armenian diaspora dominate the media and businesses,» Bozkir added.
buenosairesherald.com