Turkey condemns German resolution on Armenian genocide

Xinhua General News Service
June 16, 2005 Thursday 1:30 PM EST

ANKARA — Turkey condemned on Thursday a German resolution envisaging
commemoration of the so-called Armenian genocide during World War I,
terming the bill ” irresponsible and narrow-minded”.

“The German parliament adopted a resolution about the events of 1915.

We regret and strongly condemn it,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
said in a statement.

The approval of such a resolution by Germany “will play havoc with
our relations,” said the statement.

Turkey’s condemnation came after the German parliament unanimously
adopted the resolution earlier Thursday, which was jointly sponsored
by the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) and the Christian
Social Union (CSU).

Turkey has always denied allegations that up to 1.5 million Armenians
were killed in a systemic genocide between 1915 and 1923. It claimed
that although hundreds of thousands of Armenians were killed by
Ottoman Turks, yet more Turks died when the Ottoman Empire collapsed.

Turkey said it has opened its archives to all researchers including
Germans and Armenians, and it has also proposed to set up a joint
Turkish-Armenian commission to examine bilateral relations during
the era of the Ottoman Empire in the stated period.

Some European Union members, especially France which is home to
Europe’s largest Armenian population, want Turkey to recognize genocide
and improve ties with Armenia as a condition to open EU entry talks
with it.