European Parliament adopts Resolution urging Turkey to recognize Armenian Genocide
During its plenary session on Wednesday, April 15, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the centennial of the Armenian Genocide. The resolution, supported by all main political groups, says the European Parliament “joins the commemoration of the centenary of the Armenian Genocide in a spirit of European solidarity and justice.” With this resolution, the European Parliament officially marked the centennial of the Armenian Genocide. It calls on “those EU member states that have not yet done so and EU institutions to recognize the Armenian Genocide”. It says Turkey should “start a genuinely transparent public debate with a view to recognizing the Genocide” and urges Trkey to normalize relations with Armenia. The resolution on the Centenary of the Armenian Genocide was supported by all political groups in the European Parliament, in which is stated: “whereas an increasing number of Member States and national parliaments recognize the Armenian Genocide perpetrated in the Ottoman Empire, whereas one of the main motivations of the European unification movement is the will to prevent the recurrence of wars and crimes against humanity in Europe; …whereas the importance of keeping the memories of the past is paramount, since there can be no reconciliation without the truth and remembrance; Pays tribute, on the eve of the Centenary, to the memory of the one-and-a-half million innocent Armenian victims who perished in the Ottoman Empire; joins the commemoration of the centenary of the Armenian Genocide in a spirit of European solidarity and justice; calls on the Commission and Council to join the commemoration,” Asbarez.com reports. The Resolution also commended the statement by Pope Francis [on 12 April] honoring the centenary of the genocide. Turkey was quick to dismiss the resolution even before the vote. "Whatever decision they may take, it would go in one ear and out the other. There is no stain linked with genocide on Turkey," Erdogan said on April 15.
