Germany has now voted to recognize the Armenian genocide committed by the Ottomans in 1915 and 1916:
German parliament has voted on a symbolic resolution that labels the killings of Armenians during 1915 and 1916 a “genocide” by Ottoman forces, accepting it with the majority of votes.
The resolution entitled “Remembrance and commemoration of the genocide of Armenians and other Christian minorities in 1915 and 1916,” which carries the contentious word throughout the text, had been prepared by Merkel’s Christian Democrats and junior coalition partner Social Democrats, along with the opposition Greens.
Germany took the voting, risking aggravating tensions with Turkey at a sensitive time for Berlin and its European partners, on Thursday.
Although she backs the resolution, German Chancellor Angela Merkel did not attend the vote at the Bundestag due to other official engagements on her schedule, as she announced via her spokeswoman on Wednesday.
And of course, this has pissed off Sultan Erdogan who fought hard to keep this from happening:
Turkey has called back Turkish Ambassador to Berlin, after German lawmakers accepted with overwhelming majority a symbolic resolution that labels the killings of Armenians during 1915 and 1916 a “genocide” by Ottoman forces.
Speaking to the press after the recognition of “Armenian genocide,” Erdoğan said that the ambassador was called back so that they could meet and decide on their next move against Germany.
“This recognition will have serious effects on bilateral relations between Germany and Turkey. We will talk about what our next step must be. We will evaluate the text approved by German parliament and then give our final decision on the issue,” Erdoğan said.
It wouldn’t surprise me if Erdogan sends more migrants to Germany as his anger swells over this.
It’s so ridiculous in the first place. It happened over 100 years ago and he wasn’t even alive when it happened. Just admit the genocide and move on. But he can’t, because he’s an Ottoman at heart which is why he’s reviving the Ottoman Beast in the form of his 2023 ‘New Turkey’.
And don’t get me wrong here, I’m not saying Merkel and Germany are now angels. Merkel is running for reelection and this genocide recognition likely has everything to do with getting her back in office. She needs every good thing she can get her hands on to try and repair the real damage she’s already done by accepting millions of Syrian migrants into their country last year. I just hope the German people don’t fall for this ruse. She’s a terrible leader, shown even in this instance by her not attending the vote on this.
At the end of the day I’m glad Germany recognized the Armenian genocide, even if it was for the wrong reasons. And now we’ll have to see just how deep this row with Sultan Erdogan gets in the coming weeks and months over this.