Britain’s Prince Charles is facing pressure to attend commemorations for the Armenian Genocide.
Archbishop Avak Asadourian, Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of Iraq has penned a letter to the prince asking him to reconsider his decision to attend memorials for the Gallipoli Campaign on April 24, suggesting it would be offensive to ignore the centenary of the Armenian Genocide, which will occur on the same day.
He wrote: "On April 24th, the centenary of the Armenian Genocide, the republic of Armenia is going to organize a commemoration. On that very day, the republic of Turkey has decided to commemorate the battle of Gallipoli in which the Ottoman Empire fought against Britain and its allies. Undoubtedly, this event is not about commemorating the battle of Gallipoli. This is about exterminating the memory of a race and showing how rewarding and gratifying this ultimate crime can be."
The archbishop explained he decided to write the letter after the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, declined an invitation to the commemorations, which will remember the 1 to 1.5 million Armenian people who were killed.
He continued: "I am addressing this letter to you because, I learned that the British Prime Minister declined to participate in the commemoration of the centenary of the Genocide."
"You will also see how those officials that governed Great Britain a century’ ago will look at this participation in the same way that you will look on those who will represent Great Britain in such commemoration in a hundred years.
"So, I will leave it at this, knowing what a: humane person you are when I met Your Royal Highness on November 19, 2014, and hinging my hopes that Great Britain will live up to its values."
The 66-year-old royal is yet to make a comment about the letter or his plans to attend the Gallipoli Campaign memorial in Turkey.
Britain’s Prince Charles facing pressure to commemorate Armenian Genocide
