Swedish Parliament to Vote on Armenian Genocide Resolution (Again)

On March 11, the Swedish Parliament is set to vote on a resolution — largely backed by opposition parties — that recognizes and condemns the Genocide of Armenians, Assyrians and Chaldean in the break up of the Ottoman Empire in 1915.

In an interview with Turkish agency Anadolu Ajansi, Turkish Ambassador to Sweden Zergun Korutürk said that, in accordance with policy, before each parliamentary election, the parliament must discuss and vote on all items brought to the parliament.

“And the Armenian draft resolution is one of those proposals,” said the Turkish diplomat, adding that the probability that the resolution can be adopted at the full parliamentary session is not very high as it is backed mainly by leftist parties, while right-wing parties are against it.

Swedish right-wing parties that back the ruling party have 7 seats (178) more than leftist parties (171) in parliament. For the resolution to be adopted, 175 votes are necessary.

Earlier, the Swedish Social Democratic Party had adopted a document condemning the Genocide of Armenians, Assyrians and Chaldean. It had also decided to bring it to a vote in the parliament.

Another similar resolution had been brought to the Swedish parliament in 2007, but it was voted down.

Turkish news source Today’s Zaman cites Swedish anonymous sources who say that the authorities believe the Armenian Genocide should be addressed by a committee of historians, and not in parliament.