The Netherlands House of Representatives

The House of Representatives of the Netherlands on Thursday adopted a resolution reaffirming its recognition of the Armenian Genocide, but also urging the Dutch government to follow suit, the Armenian National Committee of Netherlands reported.

In the past, the legislature has recognized the Genocide, but the Dutch federal government has refused to do so. Thursday’s resolution mandates the government to take action and explicitly recognize the Genocide.

The motion, which was adopted almost unanimously, show that the legislature has been dissatisfied with how the government has dealt with the Armenian Genocide.

The Armenian National Committee of Netherlands played a leading role in the passage of the resolution

The Armenian National Committee of the Netherlands said that years of hard work by all Armenians in the country has yielded results, crediting Van Helvert, a member of the Christian Democratic Party, who was one of the lawmakers who spearheaded the effort.

In earlier motions in 2015 and 2018, the Dutch Parliament reaffirmed its recognition of the Armenian Genocide, which was unanimously adopted in 2004 in a motion, which called on the government “to expressly and continuously raise the recognition of the Armenian Genocide during the bilateral and EU dialogue with Turkey.”

Turkey was quick to denounce the parliament’s vote on Thursday, with its foreign ministry spokesperson Hami Aksoy calling the move “a futile attempt to rewrite history with political motives.”

“Councils are not venues to write history and judge it. Those who agree with this decision, instead of looking for what actually happened in 1915, are seeking votes as populists,” Aksoy said.

“We invite you to support the efforts for a better understanding of a historical issue,” he said, adding that Turkey’s proposal for a joint history commission “was one of these efforts.”

Saying that the Dutch legislature is “detached from reality,” Aksoy urged the Dutch government to fight racism, Islamophobia and xenophobia.