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ALLEGATIONS OF WWI GENOCIDE IRK TURKEY
By Benjamin Harvey
Associated Press Writer
AP
Thursday May 11, 2006 10:31 PM
ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) - Turkey has pulled out of a military exercise
in Canada and hinted at economic repercussions against France,
stepping up protests of accusations that Turks committed genocide
against Armenians during World War I.
Ankara this week briefly recalled ambassadors from NATO allies France
and Canada to protest the Canadian prime minister's declaration last
month that the killings of Armenians constituted genocide, and a
French bill that would outlaw denying that Armenians were genocide
victims. The ambassadors returned Thursday after four days in Turkey.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry said Thursday that it was pulling out
of an Air Force training exercise in Canada, to which it had been
expected to send officers and several F-16 fighters.
"This decision is Turkey's and we would not comment on why they have
made this decision," said Pamela Greenwell, a spokeswoman for Canada's
Ministry of Foreign Affairs. "Turkey is an important NATO ally and
we hope that they will be able to participate in future exercises."
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday held a private
meeting in Ankara with representatives of large French firms with
investments in Turkey, where he warned of serious harm to relations
if the genocide measure was allowed to pass.
Armenians say up to 1.5 million Armenians died or were killed over
several years as part of a genocidal campaign to force them out of
eastern Turkey. Turkey acknowledges that large numbers of Armenians
died, but says the overall figure is inflated and that the deaths
occurred in the civil unrest during the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.
Turkey is facing increasing pressure to fully acknowledge the killings,
particularly as it seeks membership in the European Union.
But many in Turkey feel that, by using the word genocide to describe
the killings, other countries put the Ottoman Turks in the same
category as Nazi Germans.
Turkey has made it government policy to fight genocide assertions with
diplomatic and economic sanctions if necessary. But it is unclear how
far Turks are willing to go, especially if that could mean harming
the bid to join the EU.
"Sometimes you talk, then you have to behave according to the way
you talk, and you get to a place you never wanted to go in the
first place," Ilter Turan, a political scientist at Istanbul Bilgi
University, said of whether Turkey would carry through on all of
its threats.
Stephen Harper recently became the first Canadian prime minister to
publicly declare that the Armenian deaths constituted a genocide. He
was expressing his support from a House of Commons resolution in 2004
characterizing them as such.
Turkey sent a parliamentary delegation to Paris this week and Turkish
chambers of commerce sent letters to their counterparts in France
pleading for help and warning of a boycott.
If passed, the French bill, to be voted on May 18, would make it
a crime to deny that Turks committed genocide against Armenians. A
similar law forbids the denial of the Jewish Holocaust in World War II.
In 2001, Turkey, which has no diplomatic ties with Armenia, canceled
millions of dollars worth of defense deals with French companies
after lawmakers in France recognized the Armenian killings as genocide.
A Turkish court this year dropped charges against the country's
best-known novelist, Orhan Pamuk, who went on trial for "insulting
Turkishness" after he said Turks have killed more than a million
Armenians and more than 30,000 Kurds. He could have faced up to three
years in prison.
The United States, which has a large Armenian diaspora community,
has not declared the killings a genocide.
By Benjamin Harvey
Associated Press Writer
AP
Thursday May 11, 2006 10:31 PM
ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) - Turkey has pulled out of a military exercise
in Canada and hinted at economic repercussions against France,
stepping up protests of accusations that Turks committed genocide
against Armenians during World War I.
Ankara this week briefly recalled ambassadors from NATO allies France
and Canada to protest the Canadian prime minister's declaration last
month that the killings of Armenians constituted genocide, and a
French bill that would outlaw denying that Armenians were genocide
victims. The ambassadors returned Thursday after four days in Turkey.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry said Thursday that it was pulling out
of an Air Force training exercise in Canada, to which it had been
expected to send officers and several F-16 fighters.
"This decision is Turkey's and we would not comment on why they have
made this decision," said Pamela Greenwell, a spokeswoman for Canada's
Ministry of Foreign Affairs. "Turkey is an important NATO ally and
we hope that they will be able to participate in future exercises."
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday held a private
meeting in Ankara with representatives of large French firms with
investments in Turkey, where he warned of serious harm to relations
if the genocide measure was allowed to pass.
Armenians say up to 1.5 million Armenians died or were killed over
several years as part of a genocidal campaign to force them out of
eastern Turkey. Turkey acknowledges that large numbers of Armenians
died, but says the overall figure is inflated and that the deaths
occurred in the civil unrest during the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.
Turkey is facing increasing pressure to fully acknowledge the killings,
particularly as it seeks membership in the European Union.
But many in Turkey feel that, by using the word genocide to describe
the killings, other countries put the Ottoman Turks in the same
category as Nazi Germans.
Turkey has made it government policy to fight genocide assertions with
diplomatic and economic sanctions if necessary. But it is unclear how
far Turks are willing to go, especially if that could mean harming
the bid to join the EU.
"Sometimes you talk, then you have to behave according to the way
you talk, and you get to a place you never wanted to go in the
first place," Ilter Turan, a political scientist at Istanbul Bilgi
University, said of whether Turkey would carry through on all of
its threats.
Stephen Harper recently became the first Canadian prime minister to
publicly declare that the Armenian deaths constituted a genocide. He
was expressing his support from a House of Commons resolution in 2004
characterizing them as such.
Turkey sent a parliamentary delegation to Paris this week and Turkish
chambers of commerce sent letters to their counterparts in France
pleading for help and warning of a boycott.
If passed, the French bill, to be voted on May 18, would make it
a crime to deny that Turks committed genocide against Armenians. A
similar law forbids the denial of the Jewish Holocaust in World War II.
In 2001, Turkey, which has no diplomatic ties with Armenia, canceled
millions of dollars worth of defense deals with French companies
after lawmakers in France recognized the Armenian killings as genocide.
A Turkish court this year dropped charges against the country's
best-known novelist, Orhan Pamuk, who went on trial for "insulting
Turkishness" after he said Turks have killed more than a million
Armenians and more than 30,000 Kurds. He could have faced up to three
years in prison.
The United States, which has a large Armenian diaspora community,
has not declared the killings a genocide.