Guenter Grass urged Turkey to acknowledge Armenian Genocide

April 15, 2010 - 11:51 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - German Nobel Prize-winning author Guenter Grass urged Turkey to acknowledge the country's crime against Armenians during World War I, DPA reported.

Speaking while on a visit to Istanbul, Grass said such recognition would be the most important step which Turkey could take in the direction of joining Europe.

"When will the moment arrive that the crime of the annihilation of the Armenians in 1915-1916 will be recognized as fact?" he asked. "I hope it will be soon," he added.

His remarks were the latest in the ongoing controversy over Turkey's official stance regarding the Armenian Genocide.

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.