NEW YORK—The Dutch parliament passed a motion Thursday recognizing the mass killings of Armenians between 1914 and 1923 at the hands of Ottoman and Turkish forces as a genocide.
Approximately 1.5 million Armenians lost their lives during the genocide (which is considered by many as the first of its kind in modern history) after facing systematic deportations from their homeland. Turkey denies the claims of genocide to this day, arguing that the death total was, in reality, much lower and occurred as the result of conflict stemming from World War I. But most scholars—as well as several countries, including France and Germany—agree that the events meet the criteria for genocide and that the Turkish government uses the war as a shield to hide the country’s past crimes.
Out of 150 Dutch lawmakers, only three opposed the motion. But despite the overwhelming parliamentary support, the Netherlands is still not officially recognizing the genocide, maintaining its current stance in order to avoid heightening tensions with the government in Ankara. Though it may be too late for that; a spokesperson for the Turkish foreign ministry described the passing of the motion as “unacceptable.”
The Armenian foreign ministry applauded the parliament, citing the passing as an example of the Netherlands’ larger commitment to genocide prevention and human rights. Sigrid Kaag, the acting Foreign Minister for the Netherlands, also said that, beginning in 2018, the Dutch government will send a representative to Yerevan every five years to commemorate the anniversary of the genocide in April.
Photo: Dutch Parliament by Pieter Musterd. Licensed under Creative Commons (2013).
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