German lawmakers to press Turkey to confront Armenian massacre
By STEPHEN GRAHAM
AP Worldstream; Jun 15, 2005
German lawmakers have prepared a cross-party motion urging Turkey
to re-examine the disputed killing of an estimated 1 million ethnic
Armenians about a century ago, according to a copy obtained by The
Associated Press on Wednesday.
The motion, to be put to a vote in parliament Thursday, demands that
the German government press Turkey to investigate the killing and
foster reconciliation with Armenians, including “forgiveness for
historical guilt.”
Parliament is “convinced an honest historical review is needed and
represents the most important basis for reconciliation,” the motion
said. “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.”
Armenia accuses Turkey of genocide in the killings as part of a 1915-23
campaign to force Armenians out of eastern Anatolia. At that time,
Armenia was part of the Ottoman Empire.
Turkey remains extremely sensitive to the issue. It denies that the
killings were genocide, 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.
Officials from the governing Social Democrats and the main conservative
opposition said they expected strong support for the motion _ partly
because it makes no mention of Turkey’s bid to join the European
Union, according to Christoph Bergner, an opposition lawmaker who
helped draft it.
Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has been one of Turkey’s strongest
backers in its membership bid, but the opposition _ which hopes to
win expected elections later this year _ has argued that it should
be offered a lesser “privileged partnership.”
Still, “freedom of expression should be viewed as a minimum standard
for Europe,” Bergner said.
A draft debated in the German parliament in February drew criticism
from Ankara’s ambassador in Berlin, who said it contained “prejudices,
factual errors … and one-sided expectations.”
The final version said “numerous independent historians, parliaments
and international organizations describe the deportation and
destruction of the Armenians as genocide.”
But Bergner said it avoided adopting that language as its own in an
attempt to encourage Turkey to allow a proper discussion.
The motion calls for the establishment of a commission of Turkish,
Armenian and foreign historians to examine the killings and complained
that Turkish authorities were stifling debate at home.
It said reconciliation could help normalize relations between Turkey
and Armenia, which have no official diplomatic ties, and bring
stability to the Caucasus region.
The motion said Germany had a special responsibility to bring Turks
and Armenians together because the German Reich had turned a blind
eye to the actions of its Ottoman ally during World War I, and urged
the German Foreign Ministry to release its records of the period.