article_snippet.sent: (CNN)The mass killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, which began 100 years ago Friday, is said by some scholars and others to have been the first genocide of the 20th century, even though the word "genocide" did not exist at the time.
article_snippet.sent: The issue of whether to call the mass killings a genocide is emotional, both for Armenians, who are descended from those killed, and for Turks, the heirs to the Ottomans.
article_snippet.sent: Some Armenians feel Some Armenians nationhood cannot be fully recognized unless the truth of what happened to Some Armenians forebears is acknowledged.
article_snippet.sent: In addition, some Turkish leaders fear that acknowledgment of a genocide could lead to demands for huge reparations.
article_snippet.sent: Recep Tayyip Erdogan said had "inhumane consequences.
article_snippet.sent: While Turkey vehemently continues to reject the word "genocide," then-Turkish Prime Minister (now-President)
article_snippet.sent: Recep Tayyip Erdogan remarks went further than those of any previous Turkish leader in acknowledging the suffering of Armenians.
highlights_snippet.sent: Turkey and others reject the use of the word "genocide"
  Most estimates of the deaths fall between 600,000 and 1.5 million .