YEREVAN (Reuters) – A group of Armenian nationalists began a hunger strike yesterday in protest at an historic rapprochement between long-term foes Armenia and Turkey.

The neighbors said last month that they had agreed to establish diplomatic relations and open their border as part of a plan to end almost a century of hostility stemming from the World War One killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks.

The hunger strikers are supporters of the nationalist party the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, known as Dashnaktsutyun.

The party accuses the government of giving up on historical Armenian claims to Turkish territory and recognition of last century’s killings as genocide. It says there can be no thaw unless Turkey recognizes the killings as genocide.

Ankara rejects the term genocide, saying many people died on both sides of the conflict.

Twenty-four nationalists began a hunger strike in front of the Foreign Ministry in Yerevan, and another 50 started a sit-down protest in front of the government building.

They pledged to stay until a period of domestic consultations in Turkey and Armenia ends in mid-October, when their presidents are due to sign accords on establishing ties and submit them for parliamentary ratification.

“We demand that the co-authors remove the preconditions hidden between the lines,” said hunger striker Gegham Manukyan.

The accords published last month call on Armenia and Turkey to pursue dialogue “on the historic dimension” and an “impartial scientific examination of the historical records and archives to define existing problems and formulate recommendations.”

The Dashnaktsutyun has a strong following among Armenia’s huge diaspora. It split from Armenia’s ruling coalition after the Turkish-Armenian rapprochement was first announced in April.