Protest against US designation of Armenian 'genocide'

A small group of demonstrators showed up this Monday in front of the U.S Consulate in Istanbul to protest the U.S. decision to mark the deportation and killing of Armenians during the Ottoman Empire as "genocide."

U.S. President Joe Biden used that precise word after the White House had avoided it for decades for fear of alienating ally Turkey.

Around 40 protesters gathered to protest the U.S. decision, chanting "genocide is a lie, it's an American plan."

They demanded the "seizure" of U.S. military bases around Turkey, namely the Incirlik base at Adana and the NATO radar installation at Kurecik, Malatya.

While previous presidents have offered somber reflections of the dark moment in history, they have studiously avoided using the term genocide out of concern that it would complicate relations with Turkey, a NATO ally and important power in the Middle East.

On Saturday, Biden followed through on a campaign promise to recognise the events that began in 1915 and killed an estimated 1.5 million Ottoman Armenians as genocide.

The statement was carefully crafted to say the deportations, massacres and death marches took place in the Ottoman Empire.

"We see that pain. We affirm the history. We do this not to cast blame but to ensure that what happened is never repeated," it said.