The world’s largest body of scholars who study genocide have written to the German government to legally recognise the genocide of the Armenian, Assyrian and Greek populations by the Ottoman Empire.
In a letter addressed to the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Bundestag Norbert Rottgen, the International Association of Genocide Scholars said:
“In order for progress toward reconciliation to be made between Turkey and the Armenian Republic and the Armenian people, acknowledgement of the historical facts about one of the most devastating human rights atrocities of the modern era must be made”.
The scholars praised Germany’s handling of its own history and the Holocaust, stating “Germany, more than any country in the 20th century, has dealt with the aftermath of genocide with exemplary courage and moral reckoning”. “Germany has been a world leader in its ability to face its past, create a powerful culture of historical memory and deal with issues of recompense and social justice in the wake of the Holocaust,” they added.
Speaking on the genocide committed by the Ottoman Empire, the scholars said Turkey “continues to carry on an aggressive campaign of denial and falsification of the historical facts”.
“Not only has there been no restitution, but Turkey’s campaign to pressure foreign governments and institutions (museums, school boards, media) to disallow the representations of the Armenian genocide is a violation of sovereign democratic rights and is ethically deplorable.”
Calling on Germany to “officially resolve in written form the forceful legal opinions made by speakers of all parliamentary factions on, April 24, 2015, confirming the genocide against the Armenian, Assyrian and Greek populations of the Ottoman Empire,” the organisation stated,
"We believe German leadership will help Turkey to address its own struggles with historical memory and will help support progressive forces inside Turkey, and Turkey’s forward progress as a proud nation.”
See the full text of the letter here.