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German parliament passes resolution recognizing Armenian genocide in Ottoman Empire

The resolution was passed despite Turkey’s protests

© EPA/MICHAEL KAPPELER

BERLIN, June 2. /TASS/. Germany’s Bundestag has adopted a resolution calling mass killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire genocide despite Turkey’s protests.

Only one MP voted against the document, while another one abstained.

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The document is titled "In remembrance and commemoration of the genocide of the Armenians and other Christian minorities in the Ottoman Empire 101 years ago." The resolution calls on the German government to acknowledge Germany’s partial responsibility for historic events and recognize the killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire as genocide. This word is mentioned in the document four times. The discussion has been demanded by factions of the CDU/CSU, the Social Democratic Party and the Green Party.

The vote in the parliament was attended by ambassadors of Armenia and Turkey. Local observers are not ruling out that after the adoption of the resolution Ankara could recall the head of its diplomatic mission in Germany. A principal decision on this has been already taken, German newspaper B.Z. reported.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel was not present at the debate, but she approved the resolution during the probation voting in the parliamentary faction of CDU/CSU, the political alliance of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany and Christian Social Union in Bavaria.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan asked Merkel in a phone conversation on Tuesday to show "common sense" over the plans of the German parliament, and Turkey’s Prime Minister Binali Yildirim called the vote "ridiculous."

The genocide issue has been marring Armenia’s relations with Turkey for decades. Ankara is still refusing to recognize the massacre of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians between 1915 and 1918 as genocide. Ankara claims that mass murders of Armenians resulted from the civil war, not from targeted policy of extermination.

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German parliamentarians receive threats

Bundestag President Norbert Lammert has said that many German parliamentarians have received threats over plans to adopt the resolution.

"Amid protests and demonstrations, there were numerous threats received especially by colleagues who have Turkish roots, and even threats to kill them," he said. "Of course, we accept any criticism, but it is also clear that threats with the goal of obstructing the freedom of expressing view in Germany are unacceptable," Lammert said. "We will not let them intimidate us," he stressed.

The genocide issue has been marring Armenia’s relations with Turkey for decades. Ankara is still refusing to recognize the massacre of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians as genocide. Ankara claims that mass murders of Armenians resulted from the civil war, not from targeted policy of extermination.

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