YEREVAN, APRIL 27, ARMNEPRESS: A rally in Times Square on April 26 marked the centennial of the deaths of as many 1.5 million Armenians under the Ottoman Empire — today’s Turkey, Armenpress reports, citing the New York Post.

Sunday afternoon’s rally drew several thousand people demanding the U.S. government deem the events of 1915 genocide.

The international dispute over the killings focuses on that one word.

Pope Francis recently labeled the deaths genocide, a view widely shared by scholars. Turkey however denies that the deaths constituted genocide. They say the toll has been inflated and that those killed were victims of civil war and unrest.

The New York rally is sponsored by the Armenian Genocide Centennial Committee of America.