Responding to a parliamentary question, the government of Germany announced that it would not use the term “Genocide” for the 1915 Armenian Genocide, and that the appraisal of 1915 was primarily the responsibility of Turkey and Armenia.
A Der Tagesspiegel news report carried by Deutsche Welle Türkçe reports that, responding to a parliamentary question submitted by The Left Party, the government of Germany has stated that “the appraisal of 1915 was primarily the responsibility of Turkey and Armenia” and that “the mass killings and deportations of 1915/1916 should be subject to the assessment of academists”.
The government also stated that it had no plans of holding a commemoration event on 24 April 2015.
The Central Council of Armenians in Germany had expressed a desire for government representatives to participate in commemorations. “The Federal Government is currently examining the possibilities of participation” was the government’s response.
Jelpke: Germany is evading responsibility
Left Party Member of Parliament Ulla Jelpke criticized the stance of the government, stating that this amounted to evading Germany’s responsibility in the crime. Jelpke added that the German Reich was an ally of the Ottoman Empire during World War I, was aware of the massacre, and was partially culpable.
There are more than 20 countries across the world that recognize the Armenian Genocide. France, Italy, Poland and Russia recognized the Armenian Genocide; while denial of the Armenian Genocide was declared illegal in Greece, Switzerland, Slovakia and Spain.
