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| Germany braces for Turkish backlash as it votes to recognise Armenian genocide | Germany braces for Turkish backlash as it votes to recognise Armenian genocide |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| German MPs have approved a motion describing the massacre of Armenians by Ottoman forces a century ago as genocide – a decision that Turkey’s prime minister said would “test” relations between the two countries at a sensitive time. | German MPs have approved a motion describing the massacre of Armenians by Ottoman forces a century ago as genocide – a decision that Turkey’s prime minister said would “test” relations between the two countries at a sensitive time. |
| The five-page resolution, co-written by parliamentarians from the Christian Democrats, Social Democrats and Green party, calls for a “commemoration of the genocide of Armenian and other Christian minorities in the years 1915 and 1916”. It passed with support from all the parties in parliament. In a show of hands, there was one abstention and one vote against. | |
| Turkish governments have always rejected the use of the term genocide to describe the massacre and expulsion of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians and members of Christian minorities in the Ottoman empire. | Turkish governments have always rejected the use of the term genocide to describe the massacre and expulsion of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians and members of Christian minorities in the Ottoman empire. |
| Speaking before the vote on Thursday, Turkey’s prime minister described the ballot as “a real test of the friendship” between his country and Germany. “Some nations that we consider friends, when they are experiencing trouble in domestic policy, attempt to divert attention from it,” Binali Yıldırım said at a meeting of his Justice and Development party. “This resolution is an example of that.” | Speaking before the vote on Thursday, Turkey’s prime minister described the ballot as “a real test of the friendship” between his country and Germany. “Some nations that we consider friends, when they are experiencing trouble in domestic policy, attempt to divert attention from it,” Binali Yıldırım said at a meeting of his Justice and Development party. “This resolution is an example of that.” |
| On Wednesday he had gone further, saying the ballot was “ridiculous” and arguing that the killings were an “ordinary” wartime event. Yıldırım repeated the warning from the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, that bilateral ties would be damaged by Germany’s decision to call the massacre of Armenians by Ottoman forces a genocide. | On Wednesday he had gone further, saying the ballot was “ridiculous” and arguing that the killings were an “ordinary” wartime event. Yıldırım repeated the warning from the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, that bilateral ties would be damaged by Germany’s decision to call the massacre of Armenians by Ottoman forces a genocide. |
| “It’s a ridiculous vote,” Yıldırım said. “[This] was one of many ordinary events that can happen in any country, in any society under the conditions of world war one. We know that those who want Turkey to pay the bill for it do not have good intentions.” | “It’s a ridiculous vote,” Yıldırım said. “[This] was one of many ordinary events that can happen in any country, in any society under the conditions of world war one. We know that those who want Turkey to pay the bill for it do not have good intentions.” |
| Yıldırım moved to allay fears that the EU refugee deal with Turkey, championed by Angela Merkel, would be put under further strain by the vote, saying: “We are loyal to the agreements we have made. The EU should stand by its word in the same way. We are not a tribal state, we are the Turkish republic, a country with a deeply rooted tradition.” | Yıldırım moved to allay fears that the EU refugee deal with Turkey, championed by Angela Merkel, would be put under further strain by the vote, saying: “We are loyal to the agreements we have made. The EU should stand by its word in the same way. We are not a tribal state, we are the Turkish republic, a country with a deeply rooted tradition.” |
| The agreement to return migrants arriving on the Greek islands to Turkey has in recent months reduced the number of refugees arriving in central Europe, easing pressure on Merkel, the German chancellor. But Erdoğan has since repeatedly questioned the conditions of the deal, with members of his party threatening to cancel the agreement altogether. | The agreement to return migrants arriving on the Greek islands to Turkey has in recent months reduced the number of refugees arriving in central Europe, easing pressure on Merkel, the German chancellor. But Erdoğan has since repeatedly questioned the conditions of the deal, with members of his party threatening to cancel the agreement altogether. |
| Opening Thursday’s debate, Germany parliament speaker Norbert Lammert acknowledged that addressing historical events can be painful. | |
| “But we have also seen that an honest and self-critical appraisal of the past does not endanger relations with other countries,” he said. “In fact, it is a precondition for understanding, reconciliation and cooperation.” | |
| He said Turkey’s current government is not responsible for what happened 100 years ago, “but it shares responsibility for what happens with it in the future”. | |
| Some historians argue that Germany, a close ally of the Ottoman empire during the first world war, was aware of the massacre at the time and supported it politically. The Bundestag’s resolution contains a passage acknowledging “the German Reich’s complicity in the events”, as well as six references to the Holocaust. | Some historians argue that Germany, a close ally of the Ottoman empire during the first world war, was aware of the massacre at the time and supported it politically. The Bundestag’s resolution contains a passage acknowledging “the German Reich’s complicity in the events”, as well as six references to the Holocaust. |
| Twenty governments, including those of France, Italy and Russia, have in the past described the mass killings of Armenians as a genocide, and Pope Francis referred to the killings as “the first genocide of the 20th century” in 2015. The German president, Joachim Gauck, also used the phrase in a speech in April last year. | Twenty governments, including those of France, Italy and Russia, have in the past described the mass killings of Armenians as a genocide, and Pope Francis referred to the killings as “the first genocide of the 20th century” in 2015. The German president, Joachim Gauck, also used the phrase in a speech in April last year. |
| Thursday’s vote was originally scheduled for last year, but was put on ice due to pressure from Germany’s governing coalition, reportedly for fear of destabilising Turkish-German relations. A revised draft of the resolution was brought back to the Bundestag largely due to the efforts of the Green party’s Turkish-German co-chair Cem Özdemir. | Thursday’s vote was originally scheduled for last year, but was put on ice due to pressure from Germany’s governing coalition, reportedly for fear of destabilising Turkish-German relations. A revised draft of the resolution was brought back to the Bundestag largely due to the efforts of the Green party’s Turkish-German co-chair Cem Özdemir. |
| Merkel was not in the Bundestag for the vote because of other commitments, including a meeting with the Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg. | Merkel was not in the Bundestag for the vote because of other commitments, including a meeting with the Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg. |