Clooney joins Armenians to mark genocide anniversary

Hollywood star and rights advocate George Clooney on Sunday led thousands of Armenians on a march to a hilltop memorial in Yerevan to commemorate the 101st anniversary of the World War I-era Armenian genocide.

A staunch advocate of the massacre’s recognition as genocide, Clooney arrived in the ex-Soviet nation on Saturday to take part in the hugely symbolic ceremonies. Clooney and the French singer of Armenian origin Charles Aznavour joined President Serzh Sarkisian and thousands of Armenians to lay flowers at the eternal flame at the imposing Tsitsernakaberd memorial as requiem services for the victims were held in churches across the country. 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. The genocide “is a part of Armenia’s history, it’s also a part of the world’s history, it’s not the pain of one nation only,” the US actor and director said upon his arrival in Yerevan. “Today, we commemorate the sacred memory of the victims of the Armenian genocide,” Sarkisian said.