Members of European Parliament voting in favor of a resolution on the centenary of the Armenian Genocide.
The European Parliament on April 15 passed a resolution on the occasion of the centennial of the Armenian Genocide calling on Turkey to come to terms with its past.
In a press release, the European Parliament said “MEPs stress the need for Turkey to recognise the Armenian genocide, so as to pave way for ‘genuine reconciliation.’ They also commend the statement by Pope Francis on 12 April honouring the centenary of the genocide.” The resolution “pays tribute, on the eve of the Centenary, to the memory of the 1.5 million innocent Armenian victims” and calls on Turkey “to come to terms with its past.”
The European Council was represented by Kalinina-Lukaševica and the European Commission Kristalina Georgieva, Vice-President of the European Commission and Commissioner for the Budget and Human Resources. With this resolution, the European Parliament officially marked the centennial of the Armenian Genocide.
The resolution, which was supported by all political groups in the European Parliament stated: “whereas an increasing number of Member States and national parliaments recognize the Armenian Genocide perpetrated in the Ottoman Empire, whereas one of the main motivations of the European unification movement is the will to prevent the recurrence of wars and crimes against humanity in Europe; …whereas the importance of keeping the memories of the past is paramount, since there can be no reconciliation without the truth and remembrance; Pays tribute, on the eve of the Centenary, to the memory of the one-and-a-half million innocent Armenian victims who perished in the Ottoman Empire; joins the commemoration of the centenary of the Armenian Genocide in a spirit of European solidarity and justice; calls on the Commission and Council to join the commemoration.”
The European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy (EAFJD) said that the number of members of the European Parliament who took the stage and showed their solidarity to the Armenian nation in and in support of the resolution, stressing the importance of calling a genocide a genocide was unprecedented.
Kaspar Karampetian, President of EAFJD said “Armenians all over the world welcome this resolution in this centennial year of the Armenian Genocide. The European Union is a union of values, dignity and human rights, and we expect all countries willing to join it, to have reconciled with their past, have friendly relations with their neighbors and look forward to a brighter and peaceful future without the ultimate of crimes, without Genocide. We expect Turkey come to terms with its past, and acknowledge the crime it has committed against the Armenian population 100 years ago, with all its consequences.” Karampetian also stressed the need for the EU Council and Commission to show more courage, acknowledge the crime with its proper name, and not hide behind EU member countries who have not yet recognized the Armenian Genocide.
Eduardo Lorenzo Ochoa, director of the European Friends of Armenia (EuFoA) said: “The European Parliament has once again proven its solidarity and support to the Armenian people, paying tribute to the innocent victims of the Genocide thus expressing its strong rejection to any kind of genocide denialism. The Parliament’s stance on genocides and crimes against humanity could not be clearer!”
Armenia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Edward Nalbandian said that Armenia welcomes the European Parliament Resolution on the Centenary of the Armenian Genocide. The statement read:
“The European Parliament underlines that yet in its resolution of 1987 it recognized that what took place against the Armenians in 1915-1917 in the Ottoman Empire represents a genocide as defined by the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, and strongly deplores any attempts of its denial.
Paying tribute to the memory of the one-and-a-half million innocent Armenian victims the parliament, representing 28 European countries, is joining the commemoration of the Centenary of the Armenian Genocide and calls on the Commission and Council to follow its example.
The European Parliament deems the prevention and effective punishment of genocides and crimes against humanity as a main priority of the international community.
The Resolution contains an important message to Turkey to use the commemoration of the Centenary of the Armenian Genocide to come to terms with its past, to recognize the Armenian Genocide and thus pave the way for a genuine reconciliation between Turkish and Armenian peoples.
By the adoption of this Resolution the European Parliament once again reaffirmed its dedication to the protection of human rights and universal values.”
Turkish Reactions
The Permanent Delegation of Turkey to the EU immediately tweeted that the European Parliament resolution has succeeded in alienating Turkey and the Turkish people and acted as a prosecutor, judge and jury. It went on to say that without dialogue between the parties, such resolutions are meaningless.
In its latest resolution the EP has once again been successful in alienating Turkey&the Turkish people.It acted as prosecutor, judge & jury.
— EU Delegation Turkey (@AvbirDT) April 15, 2015
+It decided without any real dialogue w/ the injured party.Without such a dialogue w/ the parties concerned the resolutions are meaningless.
— EU Delegation Turkey (@AvbirDT) April 15, 2015
The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs also issued a statement:
“The European Parliament known for contriving obstacles to the development of Turkey-EU relations aspired once again to rewrite history regarding the 1915 events, as it has attempted to do so previously.
This aspiration resulted in a preposterous text of resolution dated 15 April 2015 which literally repeats the anti-Turkish clichés of the Armenian propaganda.
With this resolution, the European Parliament repeated exactly a mistake it has made in the past in an incompatible way with international law and exceeding its competence.
We do not take seriously those who adopted this resolution by mutilating history and law. The participation of the EU citizens with a rate of 42% in 2014 elections already implies the place that this Parliament occupies in the political culture of the EU.
We return this text, which is an unprecedented example of incoherence in all its aspects, verbatim to the abovementioned institution so that the text finds its place among the documents that the European Parliament will shy away from remembering in the future.
Those adopting this text may perhaps recall that the EU was established on the pillars of reconciliation and peace culture, and on the basis of the principles such as democracy, human rights and free market economy.
We wish success to the politicians who supported the adoption of the resolution today in the European Parliament, in their entrenched partnership with those who have nothing to do with European values and feeding on hatred, revenge and the culture of conflict.
As a matter of fact, contrary to the values constituting the essential reason for the existence of the European Parliament, this selective and one-sided approach of the European Parliament with regards to the 1915 events has the potential to harm the relations between Turkey and EU and falls far behind from bringing a solution to the issue between Turkey and Armenia.
Naturally, this resolution cannot merely be explained away by either lack of knowledge or ignorance.
Unfortunately, what lays behind is a religious and cultural fanaticism and indifference towards others regarded as different.
If the European Parliament wishes to contribute to building a common future for European peoples, it should realize that this cannot be achieved by excluding different religions and cultures.
As for 1915 events, it is evident that Turkey has assiduously fulfilled its duty with regards to memory.
We hope that Armenia also achieves such a level of maturity as soon as possible.
Members of the European Parliament may better encounter their own past and remember especially their roles and responsibilities in the most abhorrent calamities of humanity such as World War I and World War II, well before dealing with the 1915 issue.”
According to Reuters, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at a news conference that “whatever decision the European Parliament takes on Armenian genocide claims, it would go in one ear and out the other.”
