The European parliament commemorated the Armenian genocide
On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide the European Parliament urged Turkey and Armenia to reconcile their differences. During the Brussels mini-plenary session on the 15th of April the MEPs honoured the memory of the 1.5 million innocent Armenians who fell victims of the genocide in the Ottoman Empire, and adopted a resolution urging the two nations to truthfully reconcile.
“We can see what effects these dark events of history have on our lives today, even after a hundred years. That is why I think it is important that we learn to give a name to these past events, as this carries the possibility for a new beginning” – said Csaba Sógor during the parliamentary debate on the subject. The RMDSZ MEP pointed out that the commemoration was not against Europe's Turkish friends, but to make sure that what happened with the Armenian people following 1915 shall never happen to any other community in 2015 or in the days to come.
The European Parliament recognized that the statement of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, which acknowledged the atrocities committed against the Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire is a step in the right direction. However, the EP still urges Turkey to fulfil its obligations towards the protection of Armenian cultural heritage and to settle relations by opening the borders for economic and cross-border cooperation.
Sógor Csaba stated: no one aims to offend the Turkish people by acknowledging the genocide. "We are aware that the creation of the modern Turkish state is of an enormous significance, yet we cannot pretend that certain things had not happened" - said the MEP during the parliamentary debate.
