German parliament passes Armenian resolution

[Siamanto]

German parliament passes Armenian resolution

Berlin, June 16, IRNA

The German parliament here Thursday approved a resolution aimed at
commemorating the expulsion and massacres of Armenians in the Ottoman
empire some 90 years ago.

Petitioned by all German political parties, the three-page resolution
urges Turkey to "take historic responsibility" for the massacres and
expulsions of Armenians by the Ottoman government.

The resolution points also to a limited German role in the massacres
of Armenians since Germany was a close ally of the Ottomans.

Turkey has harshly criticized the German resolution, calling it
"irresponsible".

http://groong.usc.edu/news/msg115913.html

[Siamanto]

German parliament calls for Turkey to re-examine Armenian killings

AP Worldstream; Jun 16, 2005

Germany's parliament on Thursday urged Turkey to examine its role in
the killing of an estimated 1 million ethnic Armenians a century ago,
an issue that could weigh on Ankara's hopes of joining the European
Union.

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.

"The motion is passed with votes from the whole house," parliamentary
vice president Antje Vollmer announced after a show of hands in the
lower house.

Armenia accuses Turkey of genocide in the killings as part of a 1915-23
campaign to force Armenians out of eastern Anatolia. At the time,
Armenia was part of the Ottoman Empire.

Turkey remains extremely sensitive to the issue. It denies that the
killings were genocide and says the death count is inflated and that
Armenians were killed or displaced along with others as the Ottoman
Empire tried to quell civil unrest.

In its motion, the German parliament said it was "convinced an honest
historical review is needed and represents the most important basis
for reconciliation."

"This is particularly true in the framework of a European culture
of remembrance which includes openly debating the dark side of each
nation's history," it said.

The motion didn't mention Turkey's bid to join the EU, but said the
Armenian issue was 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 25-nation bloc.

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has been one of Turkey's strongest
backers in its membership bid, but the conservative opposition _
which hopes to win elections later this year _ argues that it should
be offered a lesser "privileged partnership."

http://groong.usc.edu/news/msg115911.html

[Siamanto]

VOTING OF RESOLUTION ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE TO TAKE PLACE IN
GERMAN BUNDESTAG JUN 16

YEREVAN, JUNE 15. ARMINFO. A without-debate voting of "The
Commemoration Day of Armenians on the occasion of the 90th
anniversary of April 24, 1915 massacres: Germany should contribute to
reconciliation of Turks and Armenians" draft resolution elaborated
by the CDU/CSU bloc will take place at the German Bundestag on June
16, at 12:00 at Berlin time, resolution's co-author, chairman of
German-Caucasian parliamentary group of Bundestag Christoph Bergner
stated in an interview to ARMINFO.

In his words, events of 1915 have not been characterized in the
document as "genocide", however, there is paragraph there saying that
international historians name it "Armenian Genocide". To remind,
in his recent interview to ARMINFO Bergner noted that in spite of
importance of development and strengthening Turkish-German relations,
"we are convinced that Bundestag deputies will follow the voice of
their conscience when adopting decision on the draft resolution". He
also noted that the adoption of the draft resolution stresses a big
responsibility rest at Kaiser Germany, as being a witness of events
in Ottoman Empire it did not prevent their realization.

In her turn, professor of Freie Berlin University Tessa Hoffman
noted earlier in an interview to ARMINFO that the initiators of the
draft resolution do not purpose an aim to condemn Turkey. They use
terms which German diplomats - witnesses of those events - had used
when describing Armenian Genocide. "However, I am not sure that the
words are chosen rightly as German ambassadors and advisers used very
clear language, despite the fact that "genocide" term had not been
used that time. They used "extirpation" and "annihilation" words,
whereas "assassinations" and "expatriation" are noted in the draft
resolution. International community should use the exact juridical
language to classify the events rightly. There is a big difference
between "expatriation" and "genocide" words", she noted.

To note, the German Parliament will make the final decision on the
draft resolution on June 16 and, as Armenia's ambassador to Germany
Karine Ghazinyan stated earlier, the proper decision of Bundestag
will be equal to recognition of Armenian Genocide of 1915 by Germany.

http://groong.usc.edu/news/msg115824.html

[Siamanto]

German parlt condemns 1915 killings of Armenians
By Nick Antonovics

Reuters, UK
June 16 2005

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's parliament condemned on Thursday the
mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks 90 years ago, sparking an
angry protest from Ankara.

Voting shortly after the government and opposition clashed over
whether Turkey should join the European Union, all main parties in
the Bundestag joined in deploring what many historians say amounted
to genocide.

The resolution stopped short of calling the killings genocide, a term
Turkey rejects, but it will test relations between Ankara and Berlin,
a staunch supporter of Turkish EU aspirations.

"This resolution is regrettable and we strongly condemn it," said
the Turkish Foreign Ministry in a statement.

It described the resolution as one-sided and "provocative" and said
it would hurt Turks' feelings. It said German lawmakers had been
motivated by domestic politics and had ignored repeated warnings of
the harm the resolution would do to bilateral ties.

Turkey denies the claims that 1.5 million Armenians were killed in a
systematic genocide between 1915 and 1923 as the multi-ethnic Ottoman
Empire collapsed.

It accepts hundreds of thousands of Armenians were killed but says
even more Turks died in a partisan conflict in which many Armenians
backed invading Russian troops.

TURKEY SAYS "HUGE INJUSTICE"

Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul told German reporters this
week that the resolution amounted to "a huge injustice toward Turkey
and Turks living in Germany," the German newspaper Rheinische Post
reported on Thursday.

Teaching in German schools about the "destruction" of Armenians as
proposed by the resolution would create hostility against Turks among
German youth, the Turkish foreign ministry statement said.

Around 2 million Turks live in Germany. A Berlin police spokesman
said a demonstration was planned in front of the Armenian embassy in
Berlin on Saturday.

The resolution urged Turkey to set up an independent committee
of Turkish, Armenian and international historians to document what
happened and to hold a conference in Istanbul -- postponed last month
-- to examine the issue. The Turkish foreign ministry said Turkey
had opened its archives to historians and proposed establishment
of a joint commission between Turkey and Armenia to investigate
Turkish-Armenian relations during the Ottoman Empire.

The resolution also condemned the German government of the time for
failing to try to stop the killings despite having "information about
the organized expulsion and extermination of Armenians."

Germany was an ally of the Ottoman Empire during World War One,
when the massacres took place.

"The German parliament is well aware from its own experience how
hard it is for all peoples to deal with the dark side of their past,"
the resolution said in a reference to Germany's own Nazi regime and
its murder of millions of Jews.

http://groong.usc.edu/news/msg115965.html

[Siamanto]

German Parliament Criticizes Turkey Over Armenians (Update1)

Bloomberg
June 16 2005

June 16 (Bloomberg) -- Germany's lower house of parliament today
approved a motion criticizing Turkey for failing to recognize that
the Turkish Ottoman Empire was involved in the massacres of hundreds
of thousands of Armenians in 1915.

The extent of the massacres and deportations of Armenians is still
being played down or denied by the modern Turkish government,
contradicting the idea of reconciliation promoted by the European
Union, according to the motion, which was submitted by all
parliamentary groups. It stopped short of describing the killings
as genocide.

"The lower house of parliament regrets that an extensive discussion
of events in the then Ottoman Empire still is not possible and that
academics and writers who want to look into this part of Turkish
history are being prosecuted and defamed," the motion said.

Turkey denies allegations that the Ottoman Empire's treatment of
its Armenian subjects in 1915 was a planned genocide, arguing that
an Armenian rebellion caused clashes and the resulting deaths. The
European Union, with which Turkey is due to start membership talks
Oct. 3, has said the dispute with Armenia clouds Turkey's bid to join.

"It's not possible to accept the notion of `genocide' without
relying on documents and information," Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan said at a news conference in Beirut, Lebanon today.
"We are proud of our history. Therefore we cannot stand by while this
issue is being used as a political tool, as free political capital
by lobby groups."

`Abundantly Documented'

Turkey should take responsibility for the deaths because the evidence
of genocide is "abundantly documented," the Purdue University,
Indiana-based International Association of Genocide Scholars said in
a letter to Erdogan on April 6.

During a visit to Turkey on May 4, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder
urged the Armenian government to accept a proposal by Turkey that
scholars from both countries study the genocide claims.

More than 1 million Armenians died in massacres, on death marches
through the Syrian desert or in camps, the German parliamentary motion
said. Acknowledging the former injustice would help normalize the
relationship between Armenia and Turkey and stabilize the Caucasus
region, it said.

The lawmakers said Turkey is showing some positive signs that it
is beginning to address the issue, such as an invitation to Turks
of Armenian origin by the Turkish National Assembly to talk about
the crimes, an exchange of documents between Turkish and Armenian
historians and Erdogan opening the first Armenian museum in Istanbul.

Still, they criticized the cancellation by the Turkish Justice
Ministry of a conference on the subject by Turkish academics that
had been due to take place in May.

The motion also expressed regret that the German government of the
time didn't act to prevent the killings even though it was aware of
what was happening.

http://groong.usc.edu/news/msg115975.html

[oneworld]

German can not say anything about Genocide. They are trying to find a crime partner. Why they do not try to drag to the play Frenchs or Americans? I know that they are killed Africans and native americans as much as germans.

[Siamanto]

[The following is translated with SYSTRAN. It includes the text debated at the Bundestag. Ara Toranian is well known, in the Armenian Community of France, for his active participation - since the seventies - in the long struggle for the recognition of the Genocide. Siamanto.]

A crime without name at the Bundestag

Edito d' Ara Toranian

Whereas more and more of Parliaments
throughout the world resolutions of recognition of the Armenian
genocide vote, CDU deposited at the Bundestag an ambiguous
motion. If this text describes with accuracy the crimes of the Young
Turks, it avoids on the other hand any reference to the concept of
genocide. Although falling under the logic of the duty of memory,
this resolution perpetuates a certain tradition of hypocrisy
characteristic of the attitude which prevailed during decades on this
subject. By preventing qualifying genocide the extermination of the
Armenians of the Othoman Empire, the authors of the text take the
risk to fall into through they denounce: that of the guilty kindness
of a certain Germanic tradition with regard to the Turkish State. For
this reason, they would have of going until the end of the values of
ethics which chair without null doubts with their step by calling the
things by their name like France, of Canada, of Switzerland, and
of many other States. In this year of the 90 2nd birthday of the
crime, to recognize it explicitly would be a manner of returning
justice to the Armenian nation, to repair in the moral plan the
vastness of the injuries caused by a realpolitik of disaster report.
It is the least which one can wait of the democratic country which is
Germany of today. A.T.


We publish Ci below the text of the motion which will be discussed at
the Bundestag on April 22. The German Bundestag points out: That 90
years ago, April 24, 1915, the members of the political and cultural
elite of Istanbul were, by order of the Movement of the "Young Turks"
who directed the Othoman Empire, decrees and off-set inside the
country, where the great majority of them were killed. This event
marked the beginning of the deportation and the massacre of the
Armenian subjects of the Othoman Empire, which occurred in the
shade of the events of the First World War. According to impartial
calculations', between 1,2 and 1,5 million Armenians was victims of
the deportations and the crimes of mass which followed. When the
Othoman Empire began in the war, the Armenian soldiers mobilized
in the Othoman army were gathered in battalions of work, and the
majority of them were killed, while the women, the children and the
old men were sent by steps towards death through the Syrian desert,
from spring 1915. Like retrospectively noted it in 1967, one of the
most respected historians 20th century, Arnold J Toynbee, in its
book "Acquaintances" (knowledge) one of the consequences envisaged
of these deportations was the destruction of the greatest possible
number of human lives on the way. These deportees who yet had not been
assassinated or had not died in way, faced this fate in inhuman camps
in the desert around Deir-ez-Zor at the end of the voyage. Some
massacres were made by special units setting-up specifically for this
goal. The resistance of official Turkish of high row to these actions,
as well as criticisms raised in the Othoman Parliament, were
brutally eliminated by Turkish the Jeune mode. In the areas from where
the Christian Armenians had been off-set, the Othoman government
installed Moslem subjects which were regarded as honest and were
mainly refugees of the wars of Balkans. In the same way, of the
members of other Christian ethnic groups, in particular of the
Christians araméens/Assyrian and chaldéens, but also certain
Moslem minorities were victims of deportation and massacres.

The legal successor of the Othoman Empire, the Republic of Turkey,
denies so far that these events were systematically planned, and that
the deaths which have occurred during steps of relocalization, as well
as the made massacres, were decided by the Othoman government.
This attitude of rejection contradicts the idea of reconciliation,
which is the base of the community of values existing in the European
Union, whose Turkey wishes to become member. The State most deeply
implied in these events, beside the Othoman Empire, was its
principal military ally during the First World War, German Reich.
The leaders as well political as military of German Reich were
informed perfectly of the persecution and the murder of the Armenians,
from the beginning. The files of the federal Ministry for Foreign
Affairs, which is based on the reports/ratios of the ambassadors and
the German consuls of the Othoman Empire, describe the systematic
course of the massacres and the deportations. In spite of the urgent
petitions submitted to the Chancellor of Reich by many famous
Germans of the academic, political and religious spheres, the leaders
of German Reich refused to exert an unspecified influence on their
Othoman ally, by all means other than of simple diplomatic notes.
The purpose of those were more to refute the charges launched against
Germany by the Western Agreement than to support allied Turkish of
Germany. When the protesting theologist, Dr. Johannès Lepsius
made share of the result of his research, conduits in Istanbul in
July-August 1915, the totality of the subject of the Armenians was put
at the index by the government of German Reich, contrary for
Lepsius. In the same way, August 7, 1916, the German military
censure interdict and confiscated the documentation of Johannès
Lepsius entitled "Report/ratio on the situation of the Armenian
people in Turkey", which had been published in Postdam in the form
of book right one month before. Copies of this documentation which had
been sent directly to the members of German Reichstag by Lepsius
were intercepted by the authorities and were returned to the members
only in 1919, after the end of the war.

One of the particular characteristics of the States of the European
Union is that they recognize their colonial past and the dark parts of
their national history. To date, however, the historians in Turkey are
not free to present the history of the deportation and the murder of
the Armenians in 1915-1916. The Academicians Turkish and the editors
are always liable to continuations in Turkey, to not only dare to
publish historical investigations relating to the massacres of the
Armenians, but also to publish novels such as the universally famous
work of Franz Werfel "the forty days of Musa-Dagh" which
reports the fate of the Armenians. Consequently, not only the
fundamental preconditions for an academic discussion cannot be
respected as long as they remain punishable to have admitted the
culpability of the State Turc/Othoman, or the systematic intention
behind the deportation and the massacre of the Armenians in Turkey, or
even simply the mention of crimes against the Armenians. However, the
confrontation of these historical events has also a direct importance
for the present. The normalization of the relations between the
Republic of Turkey and the Republic of Arménie, which enormously
suffers under the weight from the conflict unsolved from the past, is
today of a particular interest for the future of the very whole area.
For example, the lifting of the blockade of the border by Turkey could
put an end to the insulation of Arménie. The end of the insulation
of Arménie could offer new occasions for a peaceful resolution of
the conflict of Karabakh between Arménie and Azerbaidjan.
Within the framework of the Initiative of Vicinity of the European
Union and because of its problematic role in the
germano-turco-Armenian relations in the first part of the 20th
century, Germany has a special obligation to support this kind of
standardization and improvement of the situation between Arménie
and Turkey. It is in the interests of the EU to promote the
economic development of Arménie and the stability of the area by
opening the terrestrial way through Turkey. The German Bundestag
inclines itself, in commemoration of the victims of the violence of
State, of the murders and expulsions among the Armenians He regrets
the doubtful role of German Reich, which had been informed by the
Ministry for Foreign Affairs of the organization of the extermination
of the Armenians of the Othoman Empire, but however did not even
try to intervene. By this commemoration, the German Bundestag also
honours work with all these Germans who, in difficult circumstances,
and against the resistance of their government, helped to save
Armenian men, women and children, in words and actions. In particular
memory of work of JOHANNES LEPSIUS, which fought vigorously and
effectively so that the Armenian people survive, and is saved
elimination and lapse of memory, and remains on the contrary alive and
maintained in a spirit of improvement of the relations between the
people Armenian, German and Turkish.

Today, there is approximately 4,5 million Armenians which live apart
from the Republic of Arménie, some 40 000 of them only in Germany.
Moreover, the two principal Churches of Germany fought for the
integration of the Christians of Turkey since the years 1970. The
Armenian communities which emerged here offer also occasions of
meetings and recollection. Especially with respect to a great number
of Moslems of Turkey living in Germany, it is a duty important to
point out the past and to thus contribute to the reconciliation. As
Germans, we have a special responsibility and call consequently the
Turks and the Armenians to seek ways towards the reconciliation and
comprehension in order to overcome divisions of the past. The German
Bundestag thus invites the federal Government: - to ask Turkey to
examine without conditions its screw-àvis role of the Armenian
people, in the history and the topicality. - to ask to grant the
freedom of expression in Turkey, particularly with regard to the
massacre of the Armenians. - A 22#?uvrer so that Turkey immediately
standardizes its relations with Arménie. - to contribute its own
share to achieve the agreement between the Turks and the Armenians by
the reconciliation and the forgiveness of the historical culpability.
- to contribute its share to the problem of the Armenians confronted
in Germany with a decision of expulsion, because it is an integral
part of confrontation of the history of the ethnic conflicts of
the 20 2nd century. Berlin Dr. Christoph Bergner, Dr.
Friedbert Pflüger, Hermann Gröhe, Erwin Marschewski
(Recklinghausen), Dr. Wolfgang Bötsch, Anke Eymer,
Erich G Fritz, Karl-Theodor von and zu Guttenberg,
Klaus-Jürgen Hedrich, Joachim Hörster, Claudia
Nolte, Ruprecht Polenz, Dr. Klaus Pink, Bernd
Schmidbauer, Dr. Andreas Schockenhoff, Dr. Hans-peter
Uhl, Dr. Angela Merkel, Michael Glos and the
parliamentary group CDU
Translate of English by Louise Kiffer

A.T.

http://www.armenews.com/New/index3.asp

[Siamanto]

[Original French text of the preceding post. Too long to fit in a single post. Siamanto.]


Un crime sans nom au Bundestag

L'Edito d'Ara Toranian Alors que de plus en plus de Parlements à travers le monde votent des résolutions de reconnaissance du génocide arménien, la CDU a déposé au Bundestag une motion ambiguë. Si ce texte décrit avec justesse les crimes des Jeunes Turcs, il évite en revanche toute référence au concept de génocide. Bien que s’inscrivant dans la logique du devoir de mémoire, cette résolution perpétue une certaine tradition d’hypocrisie caractéristique de l’attitude qui a prévalu pendant des décennies sur ce sujet. En évitant de qualifier de génocide l’extermination des Arméniens de l’Empire ottoman, les auteurs du texte prennent le risque de tomber dans le travers qu’ils dénoncent : celui de la complaisance coupable d’une certaine tradition germanique à l’égard de l’Etat turc. Voilà pourquoi, ils se devraient d’aller jusqu’au bout des valeurs d’éthiques qui président sans nulle doute à leur démarche en appelant les choses par leur nom. A l’instar de la France, du Canada, de la Suisse, et de nombreux autres Etats.
En cette année du 90 ème anniversaire du crime, le reconnaître explicitement serait une manière de rendre justice à la nation arménienne, de réparer au plan moral l’immensité des préjudices causés par une realpolitik de sinistre mémoire. C’est le moins qu’on puisse attendre du pays démocratique qu’est l’Allemagne d’aujourd’hui.
A.T.

Nous publions ci dessous le texte de la motion qui va être débattue au Bundestag le 22 avril.
Le Bundestag allemand fait remarquer:
Qu'il y a 90 ans, le 24 avril 1915, les membres de l'élite politique et culturelle d'Istanbul ont été, par ordre du Mouvement des "Jeunes Turcs" qui dirigeaient l'Empire Ottoman, arrêtés et déportés à l'intérieur du pays, où la grande majorité d'entre eux furent tués. Cet événement a marqué le début de la déportation et du massacre des sujets arméniens de l'Empire Ottoman, qui se produisit à l'ombre des événements de la Première Guerre Mondiale. Selon les calculs impartiaux, entre 1,2 et 1,5 millions d'Arméniens ont été victimes des déportations et des crimes de masse qui s'ensuivirent . Lorsque l'Empire Ottoman s'engagea dans la guerre, les soldats arméniens mobilisés dans l'armée ottomane furent regroupés en bataillons de travail, et la majorité d'entre eux furent tués, tandis que les femmes, les enfants et les vieillards furent envoyés par des marches vers la mort à travers le désert syrien, à dater du printemps 1915. Comme l'a noté rétrospectivement en 1967, l'un des historiens les plus respectés du 20ème siècle, Arnold J. Toynbee, dans son livre "Acquaintances" (connaissances) l'une des conséquences prévues de ces déportations était la destruction du plus grand nombre possible de vies humaines en route. Ces déportés qui n'avaient pas encore été assassinés ou n'étaient pas morts en chemin, affrontèrent ce sort dans des camps inhumains dans le désert autour de Deir-ez-Zor à la fin du voyage. Quelques massacres furent commis par des unités spéciales mises sur pied spécifiquement pour ce but. La résistance d'officiels turcs de haut rang à ces actions, ainsi que les critiques soulevées dans le parlement ottoman, furent brutalement éliminées par le régime Jeune Turc. Dans les régions d'où les Arméniens chrétiens avaient été déportées, le gouvernement ottoman installa des sujets musulmans qui étaient considérés comme loyaux et étaient principalement des réfugiés des guerres des Balkans. De même, des membres d'autres groupes ethniques chrétiens, en particulier des Chrétiens araméens/assyriens et chaldéens, mais aussi certaines minorités musulmanes furent victimes de déportation et de massacres.
Le successeur légal de l'Empire ottoman, la République de Turquie, nie jusqu'à ce jour que ces événements furent systématiquement planifiés, et que les morts survenues au cours des marches de relocalisation, ainsi que les massacres commis, étaient décidées par le gouvernement ottoman. Cette attitude de rejet contredit l'idée de réconciliation, qui est le fondement de la communauté de valeurs existant dans l'Union Européenne, dont la Turquie souhaite devenir membre.
L'Etat le plus profondément impliqué dans ces événements, à côté de l'Empire Ottoman, était son principal allié militaire au cours de la Première Guerre Mondiale, le Reich allemand. Les dirigeants aussi bien politiques que militaires du Reich allemand étaient parfaitement informés de la persécution et du meurtre des Arméniens, dès le départ. Les fichiers du Ministère des Affaires Etrangères fédéral , qui sont basés sur les rapports des ambassadeurs et des consuls allemands de l'Empire Ottoman, décrivent le déroulement systématique des massacres et des déportations. Malgré les pétitions urgentes soumises au Chancelier du Reich par de nombreux Allemands renommés des sphères académiques, politiques et religieuses, les dirigeants du Reich allemand ont refusé d'exercer une influence quelconque sur leur allié ottoman, par tous moyens autres que de simples notes diplomatiques. Celles-ci avaient plus pour but de réfuter les accusations lancées contre l'Allemagne par l'Entente occidentale que de favoriser l'alliée turque de l'Allemagne.
Lorsque le théologien protestant , le Dr. Johannès Lepsius fit part du résultat de ses recherches, conduites à Istanbul en Juillet-août 1915, la totalité du sujet des Arméniens fut mise à l'index par le gouvernement du Reich allemand, contrairement aux intentions de Lepsius. De même, le 7 août 1916, la censure militaire allemande interdit et confisqua la documentation de Johannès Lepsius intitulée "Rapport sur la situation du peuple arménien en Turquie", qui avait été publiée à Postdam sous forme de livre juste un mois auparavant. Des copies de cette documentation qui avaient été envoyées directement aux membres du Reichstag allemand par Lepsius furent interceptées par les autorités et ne furent rendues aux membres qu'en 1919, après la fin de la guerre.
L'une des caractéristiques particulières des Etats de l'Union Européenne est qu'ils reconnaissent leur passé colonial et les parties sombres de leur histoire nationale. A ce jour, cependant, les historiens en Turquie ne sont pas libres de présenter l'histoire de la déportation et du meurtre des Arméniens en 1915-1916. Les Académiciens turcs et les éditeurs sont toujours passibles de poursuites en Turquie, non seulement pour oser publier des enquêtes historiques relatives aux massacres des Arméniens, mais aussi pour publier des romans tels que l'ouvrage mondialement célèbre de Franz Werfel "Les quarante jours du Musa-Dagh" qui relate le sort des Arméniens. En conséquence, non seulement les préalables fondamentaux pour une discussion académique ne peuvent pas être respectés tant qu'ils restent punissables pour avoir admis la culpabilité de l'Etat Turc/ottoman, ou l'intention systématique derrière la déportation et le massacre des Arméniens en Turquie, ou même simplement la mention de crimes contre les Arméniens.
Pourtant, la confrontation de ces événements historiques a aussi une importance directe pour le présent. La normalisation des relations entre la République de Turquie et la République d'Arménie, qui souffre énormément sous le poids du conflit non résolu du passé, est aujourd'hui d'un intérêt particulier pour l'avenir de la région toute entière. Par exemple, la levée du blocus de la frontière par la Turquie pourrait mettre fin à l'isolement de l'Arménie. La fin de l'isolement de l'Arménie pourrait offrir de nouvelles occasions pour une résolution pacifique du conflit du Karabakh entre l'Arménie et l'Azerbaidjan. Dans le cadre de l'Initiative de Voisinage de l'Union Européenne et à cause de son rôle problématique dans les relations germano-turco-arméniennes dans la première partie du 20ème siècle, l'Allemagne a une obligation spéciale de soutenir cette sorte de normalisation et d'amélioration de la situation entre l'Arménie et la Turquie. Il est dans les intérêts de l'UE de promouvoir le développement économique de l'Arménie et la stabilité de la région en ouvrant la voie terrestre à travers la Turquie.
Le Bundestag allemand s'incline, en commémoration des victimes de la violence d'Etat, des meurtres et expulsions parmi les Arméniens Il regrette le rôle douteux du Reich allemand, qui avait été informé par le Ministère des Affaires Etrangères de l'organisation de l'extermination des Arméniens de l'Empire ottoman, mais cependant n'essaya même pas d'intervenir. Par cette commémoration, le Bundestag allemand honore également le travail de tous ces Allemands qui , dans des circonstances difficiles, et contre la résistance de leur gouvernement, ont aidé à sauver des hommes, des femmes et des enfants arméniens, en paroles et en actions. En particulier la mémoire du travail de JOHANNES LEPSIUS, qui a lutté énergiquement et efficacement pour que le peuple arménien survive, et soit sauvé de l'élimination et de l'oubli, et reste au contraire vivant et maintenu dans un esprit d'amélioration des relations entre les peuples arménien, allemand et turc.
Aujourd'hui, il y a environ 4,5 millions d'Arméniens qui vivent en dehors de la République d'Arménie, quelque 40 000 d'entre eux rien qu'en Allemagne. En outre, les deux principales Eglises d'Allemagne ont lutté pour l'intégration des Chrétiens de Turquie depuis les années 1970. Les communautés arméniennes qui ont émergé ici offrent aussi des occasions de rencontres et de remémoration. Spécialement vis-à-vis d'un grand nombre de Musulmans de Turquie vivant en Allemagne, c'est un devoir important de rappeler le passé et contribuer ainsi à la réconciliation.
En tant qu'Allemands, nous avons une responsabilité spéciale et appelons par conséquent les Turcs et les Arméniens à chercher des voies vers la réconciliation et la compréhension afin de surmonter les divisions du passé.
Le Bundestag allemand invite donc le Gouvernement fédéral:
- à demander à la Turquie d'examiner sans conditions son rôle vis-àvis du peuple arménien, dans l'histoire et dans l'actualité.
- à demander d'accorder la liberté d'expression en Turquie, particulièrement en ce qui concerne le massacre des Arméniens.
- A œuvrer pour que la Turquie normalise immédiatement ses relations avec l'Arménie.
- A apporter sa propre contribution pour accomplir l'accord entre les Turcs et les Arméniens par la réconciliation et le pardon de la culpabilité historique.
- A apporter sa contribution au problème des Arméniens confrontés en Allemagne à une décision d'expulsion, car il s'agit là d'une partie intégrale de la confrontation de l'histoire des conflits ethniques du 20 ème siècle.
Berlin
Dr. Christoph Bergner, Dr. Friedbert Pflüger, Hermann Gröhe, Erwin Marschewski (Recklinghausen), Dr. Wolfgang Bötsch, Anke Eymer, Erich G. Fritz, Karl-Theodor von et zu Guttenberg, Klaus-Jürgen Hedrich, Joachim Hörster, Claudia Nolte, Ruprecht Polenz, Dr. Klaus Rose, Bernd Schmidbauer, Dr. Andreas Schockenhoff, Dr. Hans-Peter Uhl, Dr. Angela Merkel, Michael Glos et le groupe parlementaire CDU/CSU
Traduit de l'anglais par Louise Kiffer
A.T.

http://www.armenews.com/New/index3.asp

[Siamanto]

[The following is translated using SYATRAN. Siamanto.]


A crime without name at the Bundestag

Edito d' Ara Toranian the Bundestag voted Thursday June
16 a historical resolution by which it is implied truly in the debate
on the Armenian genocide. Better, it expresses its regrets on
"the not very glorious role of the Germanic empire" during the
events. Admittedly, this motion uses only indirectly of the concept of
genocide. But the term is referred in the explanatory memorandum. In
fact, the step is completely opposite among that of France which in
the law promulgated in 2001 has recourse has a short formula, strong,
but laconic: "France recognizes the genocide of 1915 publicly". The Bundestag on the contrary began on a descriptive text, which
reports by the menu "the massacre", "the destruction" "the expulsion" of the Armenians, and which designates the culprits.
Moreover, it stigmatizes qualified current Turkey with "legal
successor with the Othoman Empire", which continues has "to
minimize" and has "to dispute" the facts. Finally it quotes
the number of the victims: "more than one million". All that is all
the more remarkable as until A maintaining Germany had shone by its
support without fault has Turkey. A position which sliced with
honneteté of its policy has the regard of the dark pages of its
own history. Also, same with its insufficiencies, this text
constitutes a beautiful projection. That is all the more méritoire
that this country more or less counts with the low word three million
Turks ignoramuses of the problem and hardly forty thousand Armenians.
A data which it is necessary to take into account, same if in theory
the duty of memory and the historical truth should not take shape
under the features of a report/ratio of forces. For as much is it
necessary to be satisfied with such a text? Not and this for at least
two reasons. First of all because this skirting "diplomatic" of
the concept of genocide falls badly. It intervenes indeed has one
moment or in Europe the explicit recognitions are added. In this
context, any eliptic formula could give taken has malevolent
interpretations and thus furbish weapons with the negationnism. Can
one assume such a risk? This type of positioning also constitutes a
reverse gear compared to the need expressed by convention for 1948 on
the definition of the genocide. Wasn't this one concue and not
adopted to qualify the type of crimes which precisely comes from
recconnaître the German Parliament? This is why, if it is
necessary to greet this historical turning of the Bundestag, it is
also nécesssaire to ask him to go at the end of its logic and to
call by its name the crime which he describes. A.T.

http://www.armenews.com/New/index3.asp

Un crime sans nom au Bundestag

L'Edito d'Ara Toranian Le Bundestag a voté jeudi 16 juin une résolution historique par laquelle il s'implique véritablement dans le débat sur le génocide arménien. Mieux, il exprime ses regrets sur "le rôle peu glorieux de l'empire germanique" durant les événements. Certes, cette motion n'use qu'indirectement de la notion de génocide. Mais le terme est référencé dans l'exposé des motifs. En fait, la démarche est totalement inverse de celle de la France qui dans la loi promulguée en 2001 a recours a une formule courte, forte, mais laconique : "La France reconnaît publiquement le génocide de 1915". Le Bundestag s'est au contraire engagé sur un texte descriptif, qui relate par le menu "le massacre", "la destruction" "l'expulsion" des Arméniens, et qui désigne les coupables. De plus, il stigmatise la Turquie actuelle qualifiée de "successeur juridique de l'Empire ottoman", qui continue a "minimiser" et a "contester" les faits. Enfin il cite le nombre des victimes : "plus d'un million".
Tout cela est d'autant plus remarquable que jusqu'a maintenant l'Allemagne avait brillé par son soutien sans faille a la Turquie. Une position qui tranchait avec l'honneteté de sa ligne de conduite a l'égard des pages sombres de sa propre histoire. Aussi, meme avec ses insuffisances, ce texte constitue une belle avancée. Cela est d'autant plus méritoire que ce pays compte au bas mot trois millions de Turcs plus ou moins ignorants du probleme et a peine quarante mille Arméniens. Une donnée qu'il faut prendre en compte, meme si en principe le devoir de mémoire et la vérité historique ne devrait pas se dessiner sous les traits d'un rapport de forces.
Pour autant faut-il se contenter d'un tel texte ? Non et ce pour au moins deux raisons. Tout d'abord parce que ce contournement "diplomatique" du concept de génocide tombe mal.
Il intervient en effet a un moment ou en Europe les reconnaissances explicites s'additionnent. Dans ce contexte, toute formule éliptique pourrait donner prise a des interprétations malveillantes et fourbir ainsi des armes au négationnisme. Peut-on assumer un tel risque ? Ce type de positionnement constitue également une marche arriere par rapport au besoin exprimé par la convention de 1948 sur la définition du génocide. Celle-ci n'a-t-elle pas été concue et adoptée pour qualifier le type de crimes que vient justement de recconnaître le Parlement allemand ?
C'est pourquoi, s'il faut saluer ce tournant historique du Bundestag, il est également nécesssaire de lui demander d'aller au bout de sa logique et d'appeler par son nom le crime qu'il décrit.
A.T.

[Siamanto]

AZG Armenian Daily #123, 06/07/2005


Armenian Genocide

IF TITLED 'ARMENIAN GENOCIDE', THE RESOLUTION WOULD NOT PASS

Christoph Bergner Claims

On June 16, the April 24 Group organized by the Central Board of Germany's
Armenians held a dispute in Berlin to exchange thoughts on why the German
Federal Parliament avoided the word "genocide" in its resolution. The
lawmakers -- Christoph Bergner from CDU/CSU, Markus Meckel from SPD,
representative of Green Party Weishuhn -- were to express their opinions.
Views of the participants rather varied: Prof. Otto Luchterhandt, for one,
called Bundestag's resolution "schizophrenia", pointing out at the
difference of words "massacres" and "genocide" in the title and in the
confirmatory part. Opposing professor, the lawmakers said that Luchterhandt
bears no political responsibility and that makes it easy for him to
criticize. Bergner reminded of the appeal on Armenian Genocide submitted to
Bundestag back in 2000 and said that the main reason why it was voted down
was due to the "genocide recognition" expression. If the resolution bore the
heading "genocide recognition", it would not be also accepted even by
CDU/CSU. We could pass a law condemning the Genocide but that would be of no
avail, representative of Christian Democratic Union said adding that we aim
at establishing mutual trust between the two states and launching a dialogue
to improve their relations.

The lawmakers stated that they understand that Turkey is simply gaining time
and that they rely more on far-outer Turkish historians either in or out of
the country. Asked whether the reason of eschewing the word "genocide" came
because of the fear to lose votes of the Turkish electorate, deputies Meckel
and Weishuhn gave no answer. Explaining why the Armenian Genocide issue
appeared in the spotlight only a year ago, Christoph Bergner, head of the
South Caucasian Faction of the Bundestag, said that he felt that a
resolution should be adopted while visiting the region.

Allegedly, this step was directed firstly at establishing relations with
Armenia, secondly, many EU states have already adopted resolutions on
Armenian Genocide and avoiding would set Germany apart. Not less important
was the fact that the Genocide issue can be a precondition for Turkey's EU
accession.

If the resolution of Bundestag has no force of law what can it provide? The
vital thing, the German side thinks, is that it opens doors for Genocide to
enter history textbooks of German Federative Republic. It must be noted
though that the education ministries of 16 German regions are independent in
setting their curriculums. Journalist Raffi Kandian thinks that all federal
states will include the Armenian genocide in their history textbooks
following the example of the State of Brandenburg. Kandian also said that
Germany's self-condemnation in the resolution, being somewhat reserved,
sends an appeal to its former ally Turkey to follow its example.

Turkey is, certainly, very far from following in Germany's footsteps. In
April of 2005, a khachkar (cross-stone) was erected in Bremen in memory of
the victims of Armenian Genocide. Giving in to Turkish resistance, mayor of
the town, Henning Scherf (SDU), promised to organize an Armenian-Turkish
dialogue. On June 30, an Armenian-Turkish dispute took place at the
initiative of the mayor with the participation of Turkish consul-general to
Hanover, Emine Birgen Kesoglu, Ali Syoylemezoglu, Mustafa Colak and from the
Armenian side -- Raffi Kandian and Otto Luchterhandt. The dispute proved
that the Turks of Germany are far from revising their history. Mayor Scherf
said in his turn that the Germans occupied their place in civilized world
after having criticized their history.

By Anahit Hovsepian in Germany

http://groong.usc.edu/news/msg117802.html