Montrealers head to Ottawa to mark Armenian genocide

ThousandsofMontrealers headed to Ottawa on Sunday morning to mark Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day.

They joined other Armenians onParliament Hill before marching to the Turkish Embassy, where they protested Turkey's continued refusal to acknowledgethe mass executionof Armenians by the Ottoman Turks as a genocide.

"It's sort of a pilgrimage," saidLoryAbrakian, a member of the Armenian National Committee of Canada.

"Every year we gather in Ottawa. It's our way to pay our respects to the victims of the Armenian genocide, and also to show thatArmenians are still aliveand that we still demand justice be served for the victims."

An estimated 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman authorities during and after the First World War, beginning with a purge of intellectuals on April 24, 1915.

Though the modern-day Turkish state disputes referring to the massacre as a genocide, Canada is among dozens of countries worldwide to do so.