A common incident for Turkish prime minister, but inglorious for Germany

Armenian Genocide resolution, which has been discussed both in Turkey and Germany for weeks, is officially approved with the voting in Bundestag. The resolution that was prepared by Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU), Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and Green Party was passed today; there was one vote against it and one abstention vote. This resolution differs from the other resolutions with its content that declares German Reich as the accomplice to the genocide. 

While Bundestag states that “it regrets the inglorious role of the German Reich, which received information from the diplomats and missionaries regarding the organized annihilation and deportation of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, but still did not even attempt to intervene in this crime against humanity”, Turkish Prime Minister Yıldırım said, “What happened in 1915 is a common incident under the conditions of war, which could happen in any country.” The gap between the approaches of Turkey and Germany reveals not only genocide but also equally serious issues.

The recognition and acknowledgment of the Armenian Genocide, which is a baseline in regard to the crimes against humanity committed in the recent history and especially in Kurdish cities of Turkey, is the fundamental issue for Turkey. While the main ally acknowledges its role as “inglorious”, Turkey insists on its official denialism; and this makes the situation even more tragic. More importantly, it paves the way for creating new tragedies in our common future. Thus, the attitude that will be adopted hereafter expresses the decision concerning in what kind of a country we will live as citizens.