June 2, 2016 was a historic day for Germany. The German parliament officially recognized the 1915 Armenian genocide, one of the biggest crimes of the 20th century. What makes this step even more meaningful is that it was an MP of Turkish origin, Cem Ozdemir, who initiated the resolution that would formally classify the 1915 massacres as genocide, and 11 MPs of Turkish descent in the Bundestag also supported the resolution. Several Turkish groups and institutions – including the Turkish parliament, the Turkish ruling party, the opposition parties and the press (both pro-government and anti-government) – have spewed out their racism, Islamic supremacism, Armenian-hatred and, most importantly, their "unique" talent in excusing mass murders. Background In 1915, close to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by the Ottoman Empire . The empire's Armenian subjects were located their historic homeland, which lies within present-day Turkey. The genocide was carried out during and after World War I and implemented in two phases: the wholesale killing of the able-bodied male population through massacre and subjection of army conscripts to forced labor, followed by the deportation of women, children, the elderly and infirm on death marches to the Syrian desert. Driven forward by military escorts, the deportees were deprived of food and water and subjected to periodic robbery, rape, and massacre. Others were poisoned and drowned. In addition, indigenous and Christian ethnic groups such as the Assyrians and the Ottoman Greeks were similarly targeted for extermination by the Ottoman government, and their treatment is considered by many historians to be part of the same genocidal policy. The Turkish government has never acknowledged the genocide and vigorously denies it even today. Erdogan: "What Turk? Their blood should be put through a laboratory test." In a speech at Istanbul's Sebahattin Zaim University, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan bashed Germany and the Turkish MPs in the German parliament for their recognition of the genocide. Without giving names, Erdogan referred to Cem Ozdemir, and other Turkish MPs in the German parliament who approved of the resolution, saying: "A know-it-all appears, prepares something and presents it to the German parliament. And then some say he is a Turk. What Turk? Their blood should be put through a laboratory test." Erdogan claimed that the countries "use this topic as a stick to beat Turkey every time they are in trouble": "We will never bow down to this cunningness, these cheap tricks that these countries engage in so as to diminish their own crimes," Erdogan proclaimed. Erdogan threatens academics - again Speaking at the graduation ceremony at Istanbul's Medipol University on June 4, Erdogan said: "We have been proud of our history. We are not as despicable as to let the German parliament question our history. "The German parliament is taking the steps for teaching an untrue history to the Turkish children in Germany. Who leads this scandal? I won't mention his name. His roots are here [in Turkey]. I can't call him a Turk. For a person who has the blood of this nation in his veins cannot accuse this nation of committing the so-called Armenian genocide". Erdogan was addressing university students and lecturers but he targeted academics – again: "We know that out of the 150 thousand academics in our universities, there are three to five thousand people who want to advance [in their careers] by swearing at their own nation.... I believe that this group will be cleansed from our universities. We know that with their impertinence, they harm the academic world." Main Opposition Party, CHP: "This decision is null and void to us." The reaction of the main opposition party in Turkey's parliament was not so different from that of the ruling party. Ozturk Yilmaz, the Deputy Chairperson of the Republican People's Party (CHP), also bashed the German vote, saying: "Without a doubt, this decision is null and void to us. That this mentality, which seeks for a partner in its criminality in its dark history, can help fix the so-called Turkey-Armenia relations or could serve the rapport of Turkish and Armenian citizens in Germany is just a ridiculous argument." Head of Nationalist Movement Party (MHP): "Forced deportation was a magnificent decision" "No matter what anyone says, "announced Devlet Bahceli, the head of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), "The deportation of those who stabbed the Turkish nation in the back was a magnificent political decision that saved a century of the Turkish homeland. And thank heaven what was required was done. "Deportation was appropriate. If there was [a similar situation] even today, it would be inevitable again." Bahceli also supported Erdogan on his statements about "blood test": "Those who have tainted blood have no blood," Bahceli declared. "Those with tainted blood do not have clean blood running [in their veins]." Local officials in Adiyaman spit on Armenian and German flags In the meanwhile, the village and neighborhood headmen in the city of Adiyaman took Armenian-hatred to a whole different level. The officials of the Adiyaman Village and Neighborhood Headmen Association spat one by one on a banner that had the photos of Angela Merkel and Cem Ozdemir, as well as the flags of Germany and Armenia. And then they burnt down the banner (click here for a video of the event). "Ozdemir and others are tricksters, jackals, and undignified," said Abdulkadir Geylani Tas, the head of the group: "I am calling out to the Turks in Germany. Do not harbor these traitors." The official also held the U.S., the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) and the PYD (Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party) responsible for the German vote. "Unfortunately, America, which pretends to be our ally, alongside the PKK and PYD, as well as Germany, where three million Turks reside, stabbed us in the back once more. "They have a one-track mind on the thing called Armenia," said the official. "We Turks have not bowed down for years, and we will not bow down even today. I strongly condemn those 12 German MPs that we thought were Turkish." The "Association that Struggles against Armenian Lies": "To us, this decision has no validity or acceptability" The Marmara Regional Presidency of the "Association that Struggles against International Baseless Armenian Lies" (ASIMDER) also "condemned" Germany. Ali Gulbey, the head of the group, said: "This decision has no validity or acceptability to us. Germany, which is one of the first countries that comes to one's mind when genocide is mentioned, and whose history is identified with genocide, is the last country that can have a say about this topic." Ozdemir's hometown in Turkey disowns him The members of the municipal parliament of the Pazar town of the city of Tokat, which is Cem Ozdemir's hometown in Turkey, have unanimously decided to remove "the fellow townsman status" of Ozdemir. The municipal parliament announced they no longer accept the fact that Ozdemir, was from their village. "In the works published all across the world," said the mayor of the Pazar town, "there is nothing called ‘massacre by Turks.' I would like to declare from here that we do not recognize the decision of the German parliament, that [their claims] are just fantasies, and that Turks and Turkey have not done such things.
