The Bundestag—the lower house of the German parliament—on Thursday will debate on and put to a vote the resolution, which defines the massacres of Armenians and other Christians in the Ottoman Empire 101 years ago as genocide, informed the parliament press service.

The document clearly uses the term “genocide,” and it is entitled “Remembrance and commemoration of the genocide of Armenians and other Christian minorities in 1915 and 1916.”  

Referring to the atrocities against the Armenians, the resolution says: “Their fate exemplifies the mass exterminations, the ethnic cleansing, the expulsions and indeed the genocides that marked the 20th century in such a terrible way.”

The document also states that the German Empire, which existed at the time, bears partial accountability for the events.

“The Bundestag recognises the special historical responsibility of Germany. That includes giving Turkey and Armenia the support they need to put the past behind them, and to seek ways of understanding and reconciliation,” says the resolution.

In addition, it is planned to vote also on the Die Linke [(The Left)] Party document, which likewise calls on the German government to recognize the German Reich’s historical accountability for the genocide.