Alwaght- The German parliament approved a symbolic resolution that declares the 1915 massacre of Armenians by Ottoman Turkish forces a ‘genocide’.
The vote was almost unanimous in supporting the resolution with just one MP voting against and another abstaining. The move was largely expected and was supported by German Chancellor Angela Merkel. However, the German leader was forced to skip the vote due to prior commitments.
Gregor Gysi, a Left Party politician critical of Turkey’s treatment of the Kurds, who are doing an excellent job in fighting ISIS, said that “Germany was a historical accessory” and has a duty to recognize the mass killings of Armenians in the First World War.
“We need to call this what it was – a genocide,” he told the parliament. “The Bunderstag should not allow itself to be blackmailed by Turkey’s threats.”
The news was greeted with delight by dozens of Armenian supporters who had gathered outside the parliament building, and were carrying banners commemorating the genocide.
According to the Christian Democratic Union’s Albert Weiler, Germany had a “historical duty” to recognize the mass killings of Armenians.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said Ankara will take retaliatory measures after the German parliament voted to recognize as ‘genocide’ the Armenian massacre of 1915. Turkey has already recalled its ambassador to Germany in protest.
Turkey has also decided to summon Germany’s charge d’affaires to the Foreign Ministry in Ankara following the vote.
The ruling AK Party in Turkey said the move had seriously damaged relations between the two countries, while Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus was equally scathing, calling the resolution a “historic mistake.”
Meanwhile, the head of the Nationalist Movement Party, Devlet Bahceli, has called for Turkey to back out of the migrant deal with the EU following the German parliament’s decision.
Turkey accepts that many Armenians died in the fighting in 1915, during the First World. However, it disputes that up to 1.5 million were killed and that this constituted an act of genocide by Turkish Ottoman forces.
Earlier this year, thousands of people around the globe took to the streets to commemorate the 1915 massacre. Last year, Austria took similar action in passing its own resolution recognizing the killings as genocide, which led to Turkey recalling its ambassador from Vienna and warning of "permanent negative effects" on relations.
France and Russia and at least 18 other nations now accept the Armenian genocide with the US being the major exception the US as Washington’s does not want to anger Turkey which hosts its strategic military bases.
