Bundestag delegation lays wreath at Armenian Genocide memorial

October 5, 2016 - 13:47 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - A German delegation led by Bundestag Vice-Presidents Johannes Singhammer laid a wreath at the Tsitsernakaberd Armenian Genocide memorial on Wednesday, October 5.

A German clergy, also visiting the memorial, prayed for the 1.5 million victims of the massacres near the eternal flame.

Afterwards, Singhammer met with the speaker of the Armenian National Assembly, Galust Sahakyan, stressing the need for acknowledging and properly assessing historical facts.

The German Bundestag on Thursday, June 2 adopted a resolution on the recognition and the condemnation of the Armenian Genocide.

The vote was unanimous in supporting the resolution with just one MP voting against and another one abstaining.

Titled “Remembrance and commemoration of the Genocide of Armenians and other Christian minorities in the years 1915 and 1916,” the resolution passed with support from all the parties in Parliament. It was put forward by Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative bloc, their partners in the government, the Social Democrats, and the opposition Greens.

The Armenian Genocide

The Armenian Genocide (1915-23) was the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I. It was characterized by massacres and deportations, involving forced marches under conditions designed to lead to the death of the deportees, with the total number of deaths reaching 1.5 million.

The majority of Armenian Diaspora communities were formed by the Genocide survivors.

Present-day Turkey denies the fact of the Armenian Genocide, justifying the atrocities as “deportation to secure Armenians”. Only a few Turkish intellectuals, including Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk and scholar Taner Akcam, speak openly about the necessity to recognize this crime against humanity.

The Armenian Genocide was recognized by Uruguay, Russia, France, Lithuania, Italy, 45 U.S. states, Greece, Cyprus, Lebanon, Argentina, Belgium, Austria, Wales, Switzerland, Canada, Poland, Venezuela, Chile, Bolivia, the Vatican, Luxembourg, Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands, Paraguay, Sweden, Venezuela, Slovakia, Syria, Vatican, as well as the European Parliament and the World Council of Churches.