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TURKISH CIVIL GROUPS SPEARHEAD FRENCH BOYCOTT CAMPAIGN
New Anatolian, Turkey
May 4 2006
A Turkish civil group began to boycott French products and services
in Turkey yesterday in a move to encourage rejection of a bill
prescribing prison terms and fines for people who question Armenian
genocide claims.
The boycott was launched ahead of the French Parliament gathering on
May 18 to debate the bill, which calls for prison terms of up to one
year and fines of up to 45,000 euros for deniers of the so-called
Armenian genocide.
With its slogan, "It's time to move," the group aims to
raise public awareness in Turkey through their Internet site
(http://simdihareketzamani.tripod.com). The campaign comes just ahead
of France's critical decision, which, according to political analysts,
would undermine reconciliation efforts between Turks and Armenians,
the normalization of relations between the two countries and further
damage relations between Turkey and France.
According to the group, the ailing French economy was hurt even
more when the government was forced to withdraw the proposed labor
bill as a result of a month-long protest by French youth to block
the implementation of the bill. Underlining that a Turkish boycott
will further damage the French economy in its fragile condition,
the group also seeks to spark reaction and criticism by the French
public against the Armenian bill.
Apart from winning public support, the civil society group also
seeks to gain the support of the Turkish government and Parliament
for the boycott.
French goods and services and companies that are being targeted by the
boycott include, among others, Total, Elf, Carrefour, Gima, Dia Endi,
ChampionSA, Air France, BIC, Sheaffer, Danone, Evian, Tefal, Michelin,
Uniroyal, Renault, Peugeot, Citroen, AXA, Peugot, Lacoste, Givenchy,
L'Oreal, Studio Line, Lancome, Clarins, Bledina, Mellin, Majorette,
Biotherm, Christian Dior, Drakkar Noir, Fahrenheit, Alcatel, Lafarge,
Societe General Bank, Servier, Fournier, Guerbet, and Pierre Fabre.
Economic relations and cooperation between Turkey and France have
quickly reached a significant level, especially after Turkey's
accession to the Customs Union. Turkey is France's sixth-largest
export market, and sectoral performance analysts say that the French
has played an important role in development and growth of the Turkish
economy.
Armenian organizations in France announced last week that a bill
stipulating prison sentences for Armenian genocide deniers would
be brought for debate to the floor of the French Parliament by the
Socialist Party (PS). Later last week, the bill won the support of 100
government deputies, which increased the chances of the Parliament's
approval of the bill.
The Armenian diaspora accuses the Ottoman Empire of deliberately
massacring up to 1.5 million Armenians between 1915 and 1919. Turkey
stresses that these figures are inflated and says that far fewer
Armenians died, due to civil unrest under the conditions of World War
I and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Turkey also claims that
during the ethnic conflict, thousands of Turks were also killed by
Armenian militants.
Ankara rejects France's 'double standards'
Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Namik Tan stated yesterday that
it is impossible for Turkey to accept France's contradictory manner
and double standards towards Turkey, underlining that approval of the
Armenian bill would wreak irreversible damage in Turkish-French ties.
Tan called on French officials to show common sense regarding the
controversial Armenian issue, just as they have towards their own
history.
Other initiatives to block Armenian bill
Other members of the Turkish civil society have also launched a
campaign to convince French deputies that it would be an enormous
mistake to pass the Armenian bill.
Representatives of Turkish businessmen, scholars and parliamentarians
will visit Paris in the coming weeks to convey messages from the
Turks to their French counterparts.
Turkish diplomats told The New Anatolian that if the French Parliament
passes the bill it would be a much more serious decision against Turkey
than the Parliament's recognition of the Armenian genocide claims in
2001. They said that Ankara is considering taking a tougher stance
than it did in 2001, and that among several other, tougher options,
it could withdraw the Turkish ambassador to France.
Turkish Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc sent a letter to his
French counterpart on Monday asking him not to take sides in the
controversial matter of the Armenian genocide. Underlining that
judging history should be left to historians, not Parliaments,
Arinc said that the French bill, which stipulates punishment for
those who deny the Armenian genocide claims, is both anti-freedom of
expression and anti-freedom of thought. He referred to the leading
role played by France in the implementation of basic human rights in
the international arena.
New Anatolian, Turkey
May 4 2006
A Turkish civil group began to boycott French products and services
in Turkey yesterday in a move to encourage rejection of a bill
prescribing prison terms and fines for people who question Armenian
genocide claims.
The boycott was launched ahead of the French Parliament gathering on
May 18 to debate the bill, which calls for prison terms of up to one
year and fines of up to 45,000 euros for deniers of the so-called
Armenian genocide.
With its slogan, "It's time to move," the group aims to
raise public awareness in Turkey through their Internet site
(http://simdihareketzamani.tripod.com). The campaign comes just ahead
of France's critical decision, which, according to political analysts,
would undermine reconciliation efforts between Turks and Armenians,
the normalization of relations between the two countries and further
damage relations between Turkey and France.
According to the group, the ailing French economy was hurt even
more when the government was forced to withdraw the proposed labor
bill as a result of a month-long protest by French youth to block
the implementation of the bill. Underlining that a Turkish boycott
will further damage the French economy in its fragile condition,
the group also seeks to spark reaction and criticism by the French
public against the Armenian bill.
Apart from winning public support, the civil society group also
seeks to gain the support of the Turkish government and Parliament
for the boycott.
French goods and services and companies that are being targeted by the
boycott include, among others, Total, Elf, Carrefour, Gima, Dia Endi,
ChampionSA, Air France, BIC, Sheaffer, Danone, Evian, Tefal, Michelin,
Uniroyal, Renault, Peugeot, Citroen, AXA, Peugot, Lacoste, Givenchy,
L'Oreal, Studio Line, Lancome, Clarins, Bledina, Mellin, Majorette,
Biotherm, Christian Dior, Drakkar Noir, Fahrenheit, Alcatel, Lafarge,
Societe General Bank, Servier, Fournier, Guerbet, and Pierre Fabre.
Economic relations and cooperation between Turkey and France have
quickly reached a significant level, especially after Turkey's
accession to the Customs Union. Turkey is France's sixth-largest
export market, and sectoral performance analysts say that the French
has played an important role in development and growth of the Turkish
economy.
Armenian organizations in France announced last week that a bill
stipulating prison sentences for Armenian genocide deniers would
be brought for debate to the floor of the French Parliament by the
Socialist Party (PS). Later last week, the bill won the support of 100
government deputies, which increased the chances of the Parliament's
approval of the bill.
The Armenian diaspora accuses the Ottoman Empire of deliberately
massacring up to 1.5 million Armenians between 1915 and 1919. Turkey
stresses that these figures are inflated and says that far fewer
Armenians died, due to civil unrest under the conditions of World War
I and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Turkey also claims that
during the ethnic conflict, thousands of Turks were also killed by
Armenian militants.
Ankara rejects France's 'double standards'
Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Namik Tan stated yesterday that
it is impossible for Turkey to accept France's contradictory manner
and double standards towards Turkey, underlining that approval of the
Armenian bill would wreak irreversible damage in Turkish-French ties.
Tan called on French officials to show common sense regarding the
controversial Armenian issue, just as they have towards their own
history.
Other initiatives to block Armenian bill
Other members of the Turkish civil society have also launched a
campaign to convince French deputies that it would be an enormous
mistake to pass the Armenian bill.
Representatives of Turkish businessmen, scholars and parliamentarians
will visit Paris in the coming weeks to convey messages from the
Turks to their French counterparts.
Turkish diplomats told The New Anatolian that if the French Parliament
passes the bill it would be a much more serious decision against Turkey
than the Parliament's recognition of the Armenian genocide claims in
2001. They said that Ankara is considering taking a tougher stance
than it did in 2001, and that among several other, tougher options,
it could withdraw the Turkish ambassador to France.
Turkish Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc sent a letter to his
French counterpart on Monday asking him not to take sides in the
controversial matter of the Armenian genocide. Underlining that
judging history should be left to historians, not Parliaments,
Arinc said that the French bill, which stipulates punishment for
those who deny the Armenian genocide claims, is both anti-freedom of
expression and anti-freedom of thought. He referred to the leading
role played by France in the implementation of basic human rights in
the international arena.