Turkey Condemns German Parliament After Vote on Armenian Deaths

Bloomberg
June 17 2005

June 17 (Bloomberg) — Turkey condemned a ruling yesterday by the lower
house of the German parliament criticizing Turkey for not recognizing
the alleged massacres of Armenians by Ottoman Turks in 1915.

“Such a decision, coming from a country such as Germany that has always
been considered a friend and ally, hurts the Turkish people deeply,”
the Foreign Ministry said in a written statement late yesterday. “We
would like to point out that it will have a negative effect on our
relations.”

The European Union has said Turkey’s bid to join the bloc may be
clouded by the claims of genocide. German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder
is a leading supporter of Turkey’s accession, while the opposition
Christian Democrats oppose the move. Entry talks are scheduled to
begin on Oct. 3.

The extent of the massacres and deportations of Armenians is being
played down or denied by the Turkish government, contradicting the
idea of reconciliation promoted by the EU, according to yesterday’s
motion. It stopped short of describing the killings as genocide.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday said he hoped
the bill would be halted after Schroeder on May 4 urged Armenia to
accept a proposal by Turkey that scholars from both countries study
the Armenian claims, the Turkish CNN Turk said.

Turkey says hundreds of thousands of Turks and Armenians died in wider
ethnic clashes as the Ottoman Empire defended itself from Russian
forces during the Second World War. Turkey says some Armenian groups
sided with Russia in the conflict.

Turkey should take responsibility for the deaths because the evidence
of genocide is “abundantly documented,” the Purdue University,
Indiana-based International Association of Genocide Scholars said in
a letter to Erdogan on April 6.

German lawmakers yesterday criticized the cancellation by the Turkish
Justice Ministry of a conference on the subject by Turkish academics
that had been due to take place in May.

To contact the reporter on this story: Mark Bentley in Ankara at
mbentley3@bloomberg.net