06-02-2016, 09:22 PM
*** 3-Jun-16 World View -- Turkey recalls German ambassador after vote recognizes Armenian genocide
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
****
**** Turkey recalls German ambassador after vote recognizes Armenian genocide
****
![[Image: g160602b.jpg]](http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com/ww2010/g160602b.jpg)
Armenian settlements in eastern Turkey in 1915 (AFP)
In a move considered highly controversial because of its timing,
Germany's parliament voted on Thursday to recognize the deaths of
Armenians in 1915 during World War I at the hands of Turkey's Ottoman
Empire as an act of "genocide." However, the vote was purely
symbolic, as there are no legal consequences associated with the vote.
For Germans, one possible motivation for the vote is that Germany and
the Ottomans were allies in World War I, and Germany may share some of
the guilt for the deaths of the Armenians. The resolution emphasizes
that Germany is aware of the "uniqueness" of the Nazi Holocaust and it
"regrets the inglorious role" of Germany, the Ottoman Turks' main
military ally at the time of the Armenians' killings, of failing to
stop the "crime against humanity."
Armenia's foreign minister to Germany Edward Nalbandian praised the
decision:
[indent]<QUOTE>"Germany's valuable contribution not only to the
international recognition and condemnation of the Armenian
Genocide, but also to the universal fight for the prevention of
genocides, crimes against humanity."<END QUOTE>[/indent]
The vote was overwhelming, with only one MP voting against, and only
one abstention. Bettina Kula, who voted against the resolution, did
not dispute the claim of genocide, but said that "It’s not the duty of
the Federal Parliament to evaluate historical events that took place
in other countries."
Members of Turkey's government were furious at the vote, and declared
it "null and void." Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan was on a
visit to Kenya, where he condemned the vote and announced that he was
recalling Turkey's ambassador to Germany "for consultation." This was
considered a mild action, one that's easily reversed. Last year,
Turkey temporarily recalled its ambassadors to Austria and the Vatican
after Austria and Pope Francis described the killings as genocide.
According to the Turkey's deputy prime minister Numan Kurtulmus:
[indent]<QUOTE>"The fact that the German Parliament approved
distorted and baseless claims as genocide is a historic
mistake. The German Parliament’s approval of this bill is not a
decision in line with friendly relations between Turkey and
Germany. This decision is null and void for Turkey.
This is an issue that scientists and historians need to reach a
conclusion on, not politicians or parliaments. As Turkey, we will
surely give the necessary response to this decision in all
platforms."<END QUOTE>[/indent]
Most analysts outside of Turkey consider the evidence of genocide
overwhelming.
Armenia says that as many as 1.5 million people were killed by Turkish
forces in World War I between 1915 and 1917, and says that the mass
killings were genocidal. According to Turkey, something like 500,000
Armenians and 500,000 Turks were killed in the massive civil war that
occurred when the Armenians rose up against the Ottoman rulers, and so
it wasn't a genocide. However, in February 1919, a court-martial
found a number of top Ottoman officials guilty of war crimes,
including against Armenians, and sentenced them to death. Deutsche Welle (Berlin) and Hurriyet (Ankara) and AFP
****
**** Germany's genocide vote seems timed to coincide with EU-Turkey refugee deal
****
The Armenian genocide question is a century-old issue, so it seems
surprising that the German parliament is raising the issue at exactly
this time, at the height of the negotiations over the EU-Turkey
refugee deal.
The European Union desperately needs the deal to continue. Last year,
there were thousands of Syrian refugees crossing the Aegean Sea every
day to Greece's islands, creating an existential crisis for the EU.
Thanks to the deal, Turkey has reduced that flow from thousands per
day to dozens per day. This has permitted the EU to go its merry way
without being threatened with the tsunami of refugees.
However, the EU has obligations under that treaty. The EU is
obligated to pay Turkey 3 billion euros in aid for refugees, followed
possibly by 3 billion more. None of that money has been paid, and is
way overdue.
Possible most critical is the commitment to visa liberalization: Any
of Turkey's 74 million citizens must be able to travel freely
throughout Europe's Schengen zone without a visa. The deadline for
this change is the end of June, and there are many forces in Europe
that are bitterly opposed to visa liberalization for Turks. However,
Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said repeatedly that if
visa liberalization isn't granted, then he'll cancel the deal and
allow the full flow of Syrian refugees to Europe to resume. It's
quite possible that there are hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees
currently in Turkey just waiting for the deal to be canceled, and
preparing to travel as soon as it is.
So this vote on century-old Armenian genocide issue arguably is coming
at the worst possible time, at the height of tensions over the
EU-Turkey deal. The suspicion is that the issue was brought to a vote
at this time by people who would like to sabotage the visa
liberalization.
A German official in the government of German Chancellor Angela Merkel
said hopefully, "Despite some of his rhetoric, we believe Erdogan has
a strong interest in making the migrants deal work and will not allow
this to get in the way."
Over a thousand Turks demonstrated against the resolution on Saturday
in front of the Reichstag building in Berlin and some German lawmakers
say they have been bombarded with hate mail and insults on social
media for supporting the resolution. Reuters and
LA Times
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Germany, Turkey, Armenian genocide question,
Ottoman Empire, World War I, Edward Nalbandian, Bettina Kula,
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Numan Kurtulmus, Angela Merkel
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
- Turkey recalls German ambassador after vote recognizes Armenian genocide
- Germany's genocide vote seems timed to coincide with EU-Turkey refugee deal
****
**** Turkey recalls German ambassador after vote recognizes Armenian genocide
****
Armenian settlements in eastern Turkey in 1915 (AFP)
In a move considered highly controversial because of its timing,
Germany's parliament voted on Thursday to recognize the deaths of
Armenians in 1915 during World War I at the hands of Turkey's Ottoman
Empire as an act of "genocide." However, the vote was purely
symbolic, as there are no legal consequences associated with the vote.
For Germans, one possible motivation for the vote is that Germany and
the Ottomans were allies in World War I, and Germany may share some of
the guilt for the deaths of the Armenians. The resolution emphasizes
that Germany is aware of the "uniqueness" of the Nazi Holocaust and it
"regrets the inglorious role" of Germany, the Ottoman Turks' main
military ally at the time of the Armenians' killings, of failing to
stop the "crime against humanity."
Armenia's foreign minister to Germany Edward Nalbandian praised the
decision:
[indent]<QUOTE>"Germany's valuable contribution not only to the
international recognition and condemnation of the Armenian
Genocide, but also to the universal fight for the prevention of
genocides, crimes against humanity."<END QUOTE>[/indent]
The vote was overwhelming, with only one MP voting against, and only
one abstention. Bettina Kula, who voted against the resolution, did
not dispute the claim of genocide, but said that "It’s not the duty of
the Federal Parliament to evaluate historical events that took place
in other countries."
Members of Turkey's government were furious at the vote, and declared
it "null and void." Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan was on a
visit to Kenya, where he condemned the vote and announced that he was
recalling Turkey's ambassador to Germany "for consultation." This was
considered a mild action, one that's easily reversed. Last year,
Turkey temporarily recalled its ambassadors to Austria and the Vatican
after Austria and Pope Francis described the killings as genocide.
According to the Turkey's deputy prime minister Numan Kurtulmus:
[indent]<QUOTE>"The fact that the German Parliament approved
distorted and baseless claims as genocide is a historic
mistake. The German Parliament’s approval of this bill is not a
decision in line with friendly relations between Turkey and
Germany. This decision is null and void for Turkey.
This is an issue that scientists and historians need to reach a
conclusion on, not politicians or parliaments. As Turkey, we will
surely give the necessary response to this decision in all
platforms."<END QUOTE>[/indent]
Most analysts outside of Turkey consider the evidence of genocide
overwhelming.
Armenia says that as many as 1.5 million people were killed by Turkish
forces in World War I between 1915 and 1917, and says that the mass
killings were genocidal. According to Turkey, something like 500,000
Armenians and 500,000 Turks were killed in the massive civil war that
occurred when the Armenians rose up against the Ottoman rulers, and so
it wasn't a genocide. However, in February 1919, a court-martial
found a number of top Ottoman officials guilty of war crimes,
including against Armenians, and sentenced them to death. Deutsche Welle (Berlin) and Hurriyet (Ankara) and AFP
****
**** Germany's genocide vote seems timed to coincide with EU-Turkey refugee deal
****
The Armenian genocide question is a century-old issue, so it seems
surprising that the German parliament is raising the issue at exactly
this time, at the height of the negotiations over the EU-Turkey
refugee deal.
The European Union desperately needs the deal to continue. Last year,
there were thousands of Syrian refugees crossing the Aegean Sea every
day to Greece's islands, creating an existential crisis for the EU.
Thanks to the deal, Turkey has reduced that flow from thousands per
day to dozens per day. This has permitted the EU to go its merry way
without being threatened with the tsunami of refugees.
However, the EU has obligations under that treaty. The EU is
obligated to pay Turkey 3 billion euros in aid for refugees, followed
possibly by 3 billion more. None of that money has been paid, and is
way overdue.
Possible most critical is the commitment to visa liberalization: Any
of Turkey's 74 million citizens must be able to travel freely
throughout Europe's Schengen zone without a visa. The deadline for
this change is the end of June, and there are many forces in Europe
that are bitterly opposed to visa liberalization for Turks. However,
Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said repeatedly that if
visa liberalization isn't granted, then he'll cancel the deal and
allow the full flow of Syrian refugees to Europe to resume. It's
quite possible that there are hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees
currently in Turkey just waiting for the deal to be canceled, and
preparing to travel as soon as it is.
So this vote on century-old Armenian genocide issue arguably is coming
at the worst possible time, at the height of tensions over the
EU-Turkey deal. The suspicion is that the issue was brought to a vote
at this time by people who would like to sabotage the visa
liberalization.
A German official in the government of German Chancellor Angela Merkel
said hopefully, "Despite some of his rhetoric, we believe Erdogan has
a strong interest in making the migrants deal work and will not allow
this to get in the way."
Over a thousand Turks demonstrated against the resolution on Saturday
in front of the Reichstag building in Berlin and some German lawmakers
say they have been bombarded with hate mail and insults on social
media for supporting the resolution. Reuters and
LA Times
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Germany, Turkey, Armenian genocide question,
Ottoman Empire, World War I, Edward Nalbandian, Bettina Kula,
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Numan Kurtulmus, Angela Merkel
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
