By Martin Banks - 8th February 2012
Demons of the past are lasting until today
Martin Schulz
Parliament's president Martin Schulz has spoken of the "demons" of Germany's past during a press conference discussion on the 'Armenian genocide' of 1915-16.
The German deputy made an impassioned reference to his country's "difficult" past after a meeting with Egemen Bagis, the Turkish minister for EU affairs and chief negotiator in its accession negotiations.
In a briefing with journalists after their meeting, Bagis and Schulz commented on the 'Armenian genocide' and a new bill recently adopted by the French senate.
The bill will make it illegal to deny that the mass killing of Armenians in 1915 in the Ottoman empire was genocide. The bill has infuriated the Turkish establishment, which has threatened France with permanent sanctions.
There is general agreement that hundreds of thousands of Armenians died when the Ottoman Turks deported them en masse from eastern Anatolia to the Syrian desert and elsewhere in 1915-16.
The deported Armenians were either killed or died from starvation or disease.
The total number of Armenian dead is disputed. Armenians say 1.5 million died. The Republic of Turkey estimates the total to be 300,000.
According to the international association of genocide scholars (IAGS), the death toll was "more than a million".
Bagis refused to be drawn on an investigation launched by Switzerland for remarks in which he allegedly denied the 'genocide' took place.
He said: "Switzerland is not member of the EU and I will not spend one second to talk about non EU issue".
Speaking alongside Bagis on Tuesday, Schulz underlined the "clear position" of parliament, which in a resolution in 2005 called on "Turkey to recognise the Armenian genocide and considers this recognition to be a prerequisite for accession to the EU".
Schulz, in his first month as president of parliament, went on, "As a German I know also the history of my own country and the role the imperial army of Germany played in previous times.
"Nevertheless, my recommendation to the Turkish authorities is the same as it was in previous times. You should face your own history and you should allow independent inquiries about your history.
"If the independent inquiries come to the conclusion that it was genocide, you should recognise it, but I think it's first up to Turkey to solve the problem. I respect the parliamentarian autonomy and the independence of the French parliament and respect the law adopted in France.
"'I know that there are a lot of people in the EU sharing the views of the French MPs," Schulz added.
The Socialist member went on, "As a German and especially as German president of multinational parliament, I have to live every day with our past, which is not an easy past.
"It is a very difficult one. Demons of the past are lasting until today, every day I am confronted with the past of my country.
"But my country, and I am proud of this, during the last six decades is facing its own history; is recognising not to be guilty - because our generation is not guilty for the crimes committed in the past.
"But we are responsible for avoiding that it could happen once more. To be as open as possible to the past is the best way to the future," Schulz said.
