The Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, will “explicitly acknowledge the Armenian genocide.” There are two motions pending in the Dutch Parliament. One states that the Tweede Kamer “recognizes the Armenian genocide”, the other that a Dutch Minister or State Secretary should attend the commemoration of this genocide in Armenia in April, NLTimes reports.
Both motions were submitted by ChristenUnie parliamentarian Joel Voordewind and are supported by all coalition parties.
So far the Netherlands never officially recognized the genocide, always speaking of the “issue of the Armenian genocide“. But a majority in parliament believes it is time for that to change.
“We can not deny history out of fear of sanctions. Our country houses the capital of international law after all, so we must not be afraid to do the right thing here too”, Voordewind said to Trouw on Friday.
Op initiatief vd @christenunie gaat de 2e Kamer de Armeense genocide erkennen en zal op regeringsniveau de herdenking vd Armeense genocide dit jaar worden bijgewoond in Armenië. Een duidelijk signaal naar nabestaanden en waarschuwing aan potentiële daders! https://t.co/4BBuvB2gZm
— Joël Voordewind (@JoelVoordewind) February 16, 2018
According to Nu.nl, Ank Bijleveld, the Minister of Defense, reacts Friday: “” Turkey will not be so happy with what has been said. “But in the past the Germans had to deal with this issue in the same way and” that is finally came good again.
The relationship between the Netherlands and Turkey is already tense, since the Netherlands refused Turkish ministers access to the country to campaign for a referendum that gave president Recep Tayyip Erdogan more power. Recently talks to repair this relationship broke down, and the Netherlands officially recalled the Dutch ambassador to the country.