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YEREVAN. – A historic vote will occur in Germany's Bundestag on June 2, MP from the Left Party, member of the Bundestag's Committee on Foreign Affais Sevim Dağdelen said in an e-mail interview with Armenian News-NEWS.am

What are your expectations from this vote?

This will be a historic vote. For the first time, a document that clearly and unequivocally recognizes the Armenian Genocide will be presented in Bundestag taking into account the views of the overwhelming parliamentary majority. Thus, the demands of the Left group have been taken into account. We have always been against ruling coalition's false respect for denial policy pursued by the Turkish government in relation to the Armenian Genocide .

It is a scandal, a large coalition in the Bundestag was not ready to talk about the Genocide in order not to jeopardize close military cooperation with Turkey within NATO. Now the term "genocide" is used in the title of a draft resolution. This is a great success, the victory of justice, the victory of enlightenment.

Why do you think Germany has not recognized the Armenian Genocide yet?

This resolution is also a victory over 101-year-old Germany's denial, and first of all non-recognition of Germany's complicity. During the last 100 years denial was practically the policy of the state expediency in Germany.  

Ever since MP Karl Liebknecht raised the issue of the Armenian Genocide in Reichstag in 1916, it has been the policy of the state. The then Chancellor Bethmann Hollweg had the motto: “We need to keep Turkey with us until the end of the war, even if Armenians die because of it.” Nowadays, the arms supplies to Turkey continue, even if the Kurds are killed because of it.

Today the German Bundestag gives the green light to Turkey's Erdogan by supplying weapons, knowing that the war against the Kurds is carried out with these weapons. Bundestag stands next to its NATO ally, despite the fact that they know that the Islamist terrorist groups leave Turkey for Armenian-populated villages of Syria, for example Kessab, and organize destruction of minorities. The Lefts have long demanded to finally include the item on the complicity of the German Reich.

In this sense, the vote of June 2, 2016 will be a historic one because the state will put an end to the policy of expediency of denying complicity of the German Reich on the Armenian Genocide.

Turkey and President Erdogan demand that Bundestag should not use the term “genocide” in the resolution. How adoption of this resolution may affect relations between Turkey and Germany?

Erdogan has turned himself into a mouthpiece of those who carried out the genocide in 1915. Thus, he wants to keep control over the Islamists and nationalists to make them approve his actions.

Erdogan uses jargon of those who carried out the genocide in 1915. He calls terrorists all those who criticize him. The killed residents of Kurdish-populated regions of Turkey appear to blame for their own death. The same, he says, while referring to the Armenians. Genocide deniers say that the Armenians are to blame; they died because they are terrorists.

Genocidal thinking still exists in certain circles of Turkish society. The purpose of this is to receive the support of the majority of population to form a system of their overwhelming superiority. This is the reason that making it clear is so important. Moreover, for this reason it is important so that the Bundestag could not concede Erdogan.

With regard to the relationship, it is possible that Mr. Erdogan will resort to new attempts of exerting pressure. However, in the long term, breaking of mythical stereotypes on concealing the fact of genocide and Germany’s participation will strengthen the Turkish-German relations. Only a frank recognition and enlightenment can open the way to reconciliation and a shared future.

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