We realized that the resolution in connection with 1915 is a sensitive issue for Turks, but we should not expect everyone to have the same opinion, said German Turk Aydan Özoğuz, who is a Minister of State at the Federal Chancellery of Germany.
Speaking to German Deutsche Welle (DW) TV and radio company, the German Turkish minister stressed that they, as MPs, have expressed their view during the Bundestag voting of the aforesaid resolution.
“This resolution was adopted after long debates,” added Özoğuz. “You may disagree with the resolution, but it’s not right to threaten and insult those who voted for [this resolution]. Those in Turkey think that we, being Turks, represent Turkey in the German parliament; this is a wrong approach. We are the MPs of Germany, and, of course, we defend the local Turks, too. I want to stress again: I am not an MP of Turkey; I am an MP of Germany and of Turks living in Germany.”
On June 2, the Bundestag, the lower house of the German parliament, formally recognized the Armenian Genocide, with the aforesaid resolution and with only one vote against and one abstention. The resolution also notes that the Bundestag regrets that the German government at the time did nothing to stop this crime against humanity, and therefore the Bundestag also acknowledges the respective historical accountability of Germany.