Friday, May 6 2016 08:32

The German Bundestag will approve the resolution on the Armenian Genocide on June 2, Albert Weiler, German lawmaker from the Christian Democratic Union and Chairman of the German-Armenian Forum, said when replying to ArmInfo's question.  

He said that the coalition campaigning for adoption of the resolution will receive the majority of votes on June 2, because active measures are being taken to that end. Albert Weiler noted that the factions of the Bundestag are negotiating on this issue and that the term "genocide" will most likely find itself in the resolution.   

The German lawmaker stressed that on June 2 the Bundestag will adopt a resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide and Germany's responsibility to Armenian people. He said that contribution to normalization of the Armenia-Turkey relations is an important point of the resolution.   

He pointed out the negative reaction of Turkey, however, he stressed that at the moment adoption of the resolution on Armenian Genocide is of much importance.     

On February 25, 2016, the German Bundestag held debates on the draft resolution on the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire. The initiators of the discussion were the Left Party and the Green Party.  Chairman of the Alliance '90/The Greens Party Cem Ozdemir prepared the draft resolution. German Chancellor Angela Merkel was present at the debates. A decision was taken to submit the document for follow-on revision. It should be agreed with all political forces of the Bundestag and prepared as a single document on behalf of all the factions. 

To recall, on April 24, 2015, the German Bundestag held debates on the resolution on recognition of the Armenian Genocide. Two-hour debates resulted in a decision to put off the adoption till April 30.  This date has already been postponed for several times.  Bundestag President Norbert Lammert (Christian Democratic Union) opened the debates to mark the centenary of the killings by himself directly referring to the mass killings as genocide. He also touched on Germany's complicity in the Armenian Genocide. The draft resolution said that the fate of the Armenians is "an example of the history of mass exterminations, ethnic cleansing, deportations and genocides that left such a terrible mark on the 20th century." Earlier Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu personally asked German Chancellor Angela Merkel not to use the word 'genocide' in a Bundestag resolution. German President Joachim Gauck called the campaign against Armenians a planned crime that meets the definition of genocide and said German actions at the time were partly to blame.