The wording used in the Bundestag resolution on the Armenian Genocide includes interesting elements, expert of Turkish studies Ruben Melkonyan told reporters today.
“The bill refers to the “Genocide in the Ottoman Empire 101 years ago, which is an important message to the world that even 101 years after the genocide the process of its perception of the genocide extends into the international community,” Melkonyan said.
On the other hand, he said, the bill refers to the “Genocide of Armenians and other Christian minorities.” “Thus, the resolution comes to prove that there has been a genocide against Christians in the Ottoman Empire, which points to the state policy of xenophobia. Although this somewhat shadows the exceptionality of the Armenian Genocide, the positive emphasis is obvious,” the expert said.
As for Tukish reactions to the scheduled vote, Melkonyan said “this is the first challenge the Turkish diplomacy has to withstand without its foreign policy architect Ahmet Davutoglu, and the first international trial for the newly-appointed Prime Minister.”
There are 630 Deputies in the Bundestag, and this complicates the adoption of the bill, Melkonyan said. He’s not optimistic about the perspectives of the passage of the bill, as real political interests often conflict with the moral issues, and political interests often triumph.”
He said, however, that “even if the bill fails to pass, it will bring a positive wave that might contribute to the acknowledgement of the fact of genocide among the German public.”