German lawmakers are expected to approve a symbolic resolution tomorrow that labels the killings of up to 1.5 million Armenians “genocide”.
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The majority of Armenian Diaspora communities were formed by the Genocide survivors. But it denies that hundreds of thousands were killed or that this amounted to genocide. Only a few Turkish intellectuals, including Nobel Prize victor Orhan Pamuk and scholar Taner Akcam, speak openly about the necessity to recognize this crime against humanity.
The measure, which cites “the nearly total extermination of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire”, would put Germany in line with countries such as France, Russia, Greece, Sweden and the Netherlands that recognize the events as genocide.
He added that there has never been genocide in the history of Turkey.
In a strong call against the Bundestag move, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said: “If (Germany) falls into such a game, that would harm our future ties – the diplomatic, economic, political, commercial and military ties between the two countries”. It also assigns some responsibility to Germany, which was an ally of the Ottoman Empire that preceded modern Turkey.
Last year, German President Joachim Gauck condemned the killings of Armenians as genocide in a speech to mark the 100th anniversary of the massacres.
Turkey and Armenia have always been estranged over the World War One massacre. “That’s why it’s so important that the genocide be recognised in Germany too”.
Turkey – the successor of the Ottoman Empire – agrees that many Armenians were mistreated at the time, but maintains that the number of victims has been grossly exaggerated and that there was no “genocide”.
Turkish organisations also sent letters to lawmakers to campaign against the vote, warning of consequences “for peaceful coexistence between Germans and Turks here but also in Turkey”.
Germany has extensive ties with Turkey, including 3 million residents of Turkish origin, dating back to a “guest worker” scheme in the 1960s and 70s. Germany had previously avoided using the term in connection with the massacre.
The vote coincides with deepening public wariness in Germany towards Turkey, and Erdogan in particular.
Despite his personal reservations about the resolution, Steinmeier said his party group recently made a decision to vote for it, after a debate where Social Democratic lawmakers expressed different views on the issue.
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Franz Josef Jung, a vice chairman of Merkel’s parliamentary caucus, urged continued cooperation with Turkey.
