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Germany passes bill on Armenian massacre

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  • Germany passes bill on Armenian massacre

    Germany passes bill on Armenian massacre

    ISN, Switzerland
    June 17 2005

    ISN SECURITY WATCH (17/06/05) - Germany's lower house of parliament
    on Thursday approved a motion that criticizes Turkey for failing to
    recognize the Ottoman Empire's massacre of hundreds of thousands of
    Armenians in 1915.

    The motion - which was proposed by the opposition and passed
    unanimously - prompted an angry response from Turkey.

    The German resolution calls on the German government "to ensure that
    the Turkish parliament, government, and society reappraise their role
    towards the Armenian people in the past and present without prejudice",
    news agencies reported.

    More than one million Armenians died in massacres, camps, and death
    marches through the Syrian Desert during 1915.

    "Acknowledging the former injustice would help normalize the
    relationship between Armenia and Turkey and stabilize the Caucasus
    region," the German resolution read.

    Turkey has vehemently and persistently denied that the Ottoman Empire
    perpetrated a massacre, saying that the Armenian deaths were not the
    result of a planned genocide, but rather the result of an Armenian
    rebellion that lead to deadly clashes.

    Turkey has warned that the German resolution could have severe
    consequences for the two countries' relations. However, Turkey is
    depending on German support for its bid to begin EU membership talks in
    October this year - a bid whose fate is becoming increasingly uncertain
    as many of the bloc's countries are against further enlargement.

    "We regret and strongly condemn the resolution," the Turkish Foreign
    Ministry said in a statement on Thursday, describing the motion as
    "provocative".

    "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," Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told
    reporters at a press conference in Beirut on Thursday.

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

    But the German motion also accepts responsibility for the German
    state's role in the Armenian massacre as an ally of the Ottoman Empire
    during World War I.

    Police in Berlin said that Turkish citizens living in the city were
    planning a protest in front of the Armenian Embassy over the weekend,
    according to news agencies.
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