George Clooney honours victims on 101st anniversary of Armenian genocide

24 April, 2016

Hollywood star and rights advocate George Clooney on Sunday joined emotional ceremonies in Yerevan marking the 101st anniversary of the World War I-era Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Empire.

A staunch advocate of the massacre’s recognition as genocide, Clooney co-chairs the selection committee of the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity which was established on behalf of the survivors.

Armenians say up to 1.5 million people were killed during World War I as the Ottoman Empire was falling apart, a claim supported by many other countries.

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

During an award ceremony in Yerevan on Sunday evening, the Hollywood heavyweight named Marguerite Barankitse from Maison Shalom and REMA Hospital in Burundi as an inaugural recipient of the Aurora Prize. Read more:

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