German MPs Roth and Özdemir: Armenian Genocide should be included in German educational curricula

BERLIN – Vice-President of the German Federal Parliament (Bundestag) Claudia Roth and member of the Foreign Affairs Committee Cem Özdemir issued a joint statement on the occasion of the 105th anniversary of the Armenian genocide.

The statement discussed the importance of 24 April in the memory of Armenia, Germany, Turkey, and the international community, according to the Armen Press.

“Today we commemorate the memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide and other Christian minorities in the Ottoman Empire and we bow especially to those who have shown humanity and have saved many lives,” the statement said.

The statement indicated that the Bundestag recognized in a near unanimously adopted decision that the Armenian Genocide is a part of Turkish history, and to some extent German history as it was an ally of the Ottoman Empire at the time. “That is why we had to recognize the Armenian Genocide,” they added.

“Because of what we had experienced in Germany, we know how difficult it is to face the dark pages of history, but we also know how to recover from this confrontation,” read the statement. “We highly appreciate the courageous steps of civil society in Turkey that aim to confront their history through democratic, scientific and academic curricula.”

Roth and Özdemir demanded the federal authorities to include the subject of the Armenian Genocide committed in the Ottoman Empire in the German educational curricula according to the decision taken by Parliament.