ISTANBUL
Hundreds of people commemorated the 99th anniversary of the events of 1915 in Istanbul's Istiklal Street, in a demonstration held by two humanitarian organizations.
People sat on the street holding photographs of the victims on Thursday at the rally organized by DurDe and Human Rights Association.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday offered condolences to the grandchildren of Armenians, an unprecedented message which has attracted a worldwide reaction and been seen as historic by many.
Describing the events as "inhumane", Erdogan said they "should not hamper efforts to establish empathy, mutual human attitudes and behaviors between Turks and Armenians," in a statement released by the Prime Ministry.
Turkey's Armenian Patriarchate also received the message gladly according to a press release issued by its office on Thursday.
1915 events took place during World War I, when a portion of the Armenian population living in the Ottoman Empire sided with invading Russians and rose up against the Ottoman authority.
The uprisings were followed by a decision by the Ottoman Empire to relocate the Armenians living in eastern Anatolia.
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