The World - News from Aug. 20, 1985

Turkey charged that a U.N.-commissioned report was “unfair and unjust” in describing the killing of Armenians during World War I as an act of genocide. Ercuement Yavuzalp, Turkish ambassador to U.N. agencies in Geneva, told a U.N. human rights panel that Turkish authorities acted legitimately to suppress an armed rebellion by Armenians who cooperated with Turkey’s enemies during the war. He conceded there were “brutalities and excesses” but said there was no premeditated attempt to wipe out the Armenian population. Turkish officials have said that 300,000 Armenians perished during the period. The U.N. report said one million died.