According to reports from this Saturday’s edition of the Hamburg-based news magazine, “Der Spiegel” (17/10/2015), the German government is going out of its way to win over Turkey. The report says that the approval of the Armenian Resolution that was so hotly debated this April in parliament will be postponed, reports.
The report claims that the governing Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Christian Social Union (CSU) and Social Democratic Party (SDP) have “quietly” agreed to delay the pending final reading of the bill for as long as possible. The article does not name sources.
Other sources claim that the resolution has been delayed due to efforts by the CDU. The opposition Green party insists that the parliament, or Bundestag, must recognize the massacre of Armenians one century ago as “genocide” before the end of this year. Green party leader Cem Özdemir criticized: “The coalition is stalling, but the clock is running out, for the commemorative year is quickly coming to an end.”
Deutsche Welle reminds that in April, parliamentarians observed the 100th anniversary of the displacement and annihilation of Armenians at the hands of their Ottoman rulers. Bundestag President Norbert Lammert (CDU), and Federal President Joachim Gauck both gave speeches this year clearly defining the historical incident as genocide carried out on the Armenians by the Turks.
Both instances led to angry reactions in Turkey. “The Turkish people will not forget German President Gauck’s words, nor will they forgive him,” was the response that Ankara’s foreign office released after Gauck’s speech in the cathedral of Berlin in April.
The author concludes, however, that “One thing is clear at the moment though, the German government needs Turkey in tackling the refugee crisis.”
