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Turks seethe over German resolution
Erdogan rejects as 'ugly' the decision to investigate massacres and expulsion of Armenians a century ago
By Rym Ghazal
Daily Star staff
BEIRUT: Just days after Lebanese Armenians protested in Beirut during Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit, German Parliament passed a resolution on Thursday asking Turkey to re-examine its role in the "Armenian massacre" a century ago and take "responsibility," sparking great anger from Turkish officials.
German lawmakers adopted a cross-party resolution asking the Berlin government to press Turkey to investigate the "organized expulsion and destruction of the Armenians" and foster reconciliation, a motion passed "with votes from the whole house," announced parliamentary Vice President Antje Vollmer after a show of hands.
Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan reacted by calling the decision "wrong" and "ugly" upon returning from Lebanon.
Erdogan said it was "wrong that the Federal German Parliament has, without discussing or negotiating the issue, sacrificed it to the demands of simple [Armenian] lobbies. Beyond it being wrong, it is ugly."
An official statement from the Turkish Embassy in Lebanon said: "This resolution is regrettable and we strongly condemn it. There is no evidence for the Genocide claims up to this day and it should be left to the historians to decide, not by parliamentarians." Meanwhile the Tashnag Party, the largest Armenian party in Lebanon, released a statement that said: "The Armenians all around the world are truly grateful for this courageous step."
The statement also noted that resolution fell short of using the word "genocide," using instead "killings" and "massacres" in reference to the mass killings, and added that "if Turkey had similar courage and dared to deal with the dark side of its past, the Armenian quest would have been resolved a long time ago." Lebanon is home to the largest Armenian community in the Arab world, made up of descendants of survivors of the 1915-17 massacres in Turkey.
Armenians have been accusing Turkey of genocide for the past 100 years, where the community annually protests against Turkey's mass killings of 1.5 million Armenians as part of what they claim a 1915-23 Turkish campaign to force Armenians out of eastern Anatolia. At the time, Armenia was part of the Ottoman Empire. Turkey remains extremely sensitive over this issue, denying the killings and stating the death count is inflated and that Armenians were killed or displaced along with others as the empire tried to quell civil unrest.
While the motion didn't mention Turkey's bid to join the EU, it did say that the Armenian issue is an example of how Turkey needs to "guarantee freedom of speech," an area where Ankara has been told it must improve if it is to join the EU. Germany's Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has been one of Turkey's strongest backers in its membership bid.
In addition, the motion included recognizing a limited German role in the massacre as Germany was Ottoman Turkey's main ally during World War I and failed to stop it, with the German Parliament asking "the Armenian people for their forgiveness."
Source: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article....ticle_id=16040
Turks seethe over German resolution
Erdogan rejects as 'ugly' the decision to investigate massacres and expulsion of Armenians a century ago
By Rym Ghazal
Daily Star staff
BEIRUT: Just days after Lebanese Armenians protested in Beirut during Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit, German Parliament passed a resolution on Thursday asking Turkey to re-examine its role in the "Armenian massacre" a century ago and take "responsibility," sparking great anger from Turkish officials.
German lawmakers adopted a cross-party resolution asking the Berlin government to press Turkey to investigate the "organized expulsion and destruction of the Armenians" and foster reconciliation, a motion passed "with votes from the whole house," announced parliamentary Vice President Antje Vollmer after a show of hands.
Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan reacted by calling the decision "wrong" and "ugly" upon returning from Lebanon.
Erdogan said it was "wrong that the Federal German Parliament has, without discussing or negotiating the issue, sacrificed it to the demands of simple [Armenian] lobbies. Beyond it being wrong, it is ugly."
An official statement from the Turkish Embassy in Lebanon said: "This resolution is regrettable and we strongly condemn it. There is no evidence for the Genocide claims up to this day and it should be left to the historians to decide, not by parliamentarians." Meanwhile the Tashnag Party, the largest Armenian party in Lebanon, released a statement that said: "The Armenians all around the world are truly grateful for this courageous step."
The statement also noted that resolution fell short of using the word "genocide," using instead "killings" and "massacres" in reference to the mass killings, and added that "if Turkey had similar courage and dared to deal with the dark side of its past, the Armenian quest would have been resolved a long time ago." Lebanon is home to the largest Armenian community in the Arab world, made up of descendants of survivors of the 1915-17 massacres in Turkey.
Armenians have been accusing Turkey of genocide for the past 100 years, where the community annually protests against Turkey's mass killings of 1.5 million Armenians as part of what they claim a 1915-23 Turkish campaign to force Armenians out of eastern Anatolia. At the time, Armenia was part of the Ottoman Empire. Turkey remains extremely sensitive over this issue, denying the killings and stating the death count is inflated and that Armenians were killed or displaced along with others as the empire tried to quell civil unrest.
While the motion didn't mention Turkey's bid to join the EU, it did say that the Armenian issue is an example of how Turkey needs to "guarantee freedom of speech," an area where Ankara has been told it must improve if it is to join the EU. Germany's Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has been one of Turkey's strongest backers in its membership bid.
In addition, the motion included recognizing a limited German role in the massacre as Germany was Ottoman Turkey's main ally during World War I and failed to stop it, with the German Parliament asking "the Armenian people for their forgiveness."
Source: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article....ticle_id=16040
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