On June 2, the German Bundestag adopted a resolution condemning the Armenian Genocide, with one “against” and one “abstain” vote. The resolution entitled “Remembrance and commemoration of the genocide of Armenians and other Christian minorities in 1915 and 1916” was presented by the ruling parliamentary majority Angela Merkel’s CDU/CSU and the German Social Democratic Party alliance, as well as the Green Party.
In an interview with Aravot.am, Deputy Director of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute, orientalist Suren Manukyan, assessing the event, gave a high importance to the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by Germany, because in his words, unlike other countries, Germany acts a participant and the so-called stakeholders, as it was Turkey’s ally in World War I.
“Last year, Austria recognized the Armenian Genocide and now Germany. It turns out that the two allies of Turkey in the WWI have recognized that what happened to the Armenians was nothing but genocide. In this regard, the many options (historical committee and so on) for Turkey to maneuver or rewrite the topic and present differently vanished. It becomes clear that genocide was committed because of the idleness of the two main allies, and now, they have recognized the Armenian Genocide. This is also important in terms of raising debates in Turkey, in addition, the recognition by Germany will raise a new wave of awareness, the global media will write about it, the world mind will address this issue,” – says the deputy director of the Genocide Museum-Institute. He is convinced that this possibly will be an impetus for Europe and the recognition will be easier for the smaller states. “The Armenian Genocide recognition by Bundestag shows that if a with its strong connections with Turkey can take this step going through all protests and warnings that the move can jeopardize the relations with Turkey, this could be an indicator that if Germany recognizes, then the political consequences for other countries would surely be less.” To add that the resolution reads that the German government recognizes its share of responsibility for these historical events, also calls the tragic events of 1915: the deportations and killings of Armenians, a “genocide.”
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Gohar HAKOBYAN
