German resolution Armenian massacres ‘ugly’: Turkish PM
Agence France Presse — English
June 17, 2005 Friday 10:57 AM GMT
ISTANBUL, June 17 2005 — A German parliamentary resolution adopted
Thursday to mark the killings of Armenians during World War is “ugly,”
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, while other Turkish officials
warned the move could cloud bilateral ties.
“I find it politically wrong and furthermore ugly that the German
parliament sacrificed the issue without debate to petty (Armenian)
lobbying,” Erdogan told reporters here late Thursday on his return
from a visit to Lebanon.
He chided German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder — whom he said was
against the resolution — for not pulling his weight before the vote
to persuade his lawmakers to reject the motion.
In a move that has angered Turkey, the Bundestag lower house on
Thursday adopted a resolution commemorating the 1915-1917 massacres
of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire, but stopped short of condemning
it as genocide.
The resolution called on the German government “to help Turks and
Armenians resolve their differences by reviewing, reconciling and
forgiving historical guilt.”
The Turkish foreign ministry condemned the resolution and warned that
the move could have repercussions on bilateral ties.
Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their kinsmen died in orchestrated
killings during the final years of the Ottoman Empire.
Turkey argues that 300,000 Armenians and at least as many Turks were
killed in what was civil strife during World War I when the Armenians,
backed by Russia, rose against their Ottoman rulers.
The issue has taken on increased importance as some European politicans
have pressed Turkey to address the genocide claims in what Ankara
sees a politically-motivated campaign to impede its bid to become a
mamber of the European Union.