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TURKEY CUTS FRANCE OFF OVER ARMENIA
Gareth Cartman
Paris Link, France
Nov 16 2006
The issue of the proposed law penalising denial of the Armenian
genocide continues to rumble on. Turkey has cut off military ties
with France, one of its main suppliers.
Turkey's continued belligerence in the face of a law proposed by the
French Assemblee National has resulted in the freezing of military
relations between the two countries. The proposal, which proposed
criminalising denial of the Armenian genocide during the First World
War, has no chance of becoming law, and was voted through the lower
house thanks to mass abstention.
General Ilker Basbug, the Turkish commander, announced the suspension
last night, adding that there would be no military visits between the
two countries and that none had been planned. Turkey, for so long a
customer of France's armament production, has already taken a strong
line against France, encouraging consumer boycotts and suspending
business deals.
The proposed law has received international criticism, with the EU
claiming that it has harmed negotiations with Turkey. Internally,
the proposal has been given a lukewarm reception, with President
Jacques Chirac privately fuming at the attempt to pass the law through
parliament. Chirac attempted to calm the situation in a conversation
with Prime Minister Erdogan, and will annul the proposal if it gets
through the senate.
The issue further clouds Turkey's increasingly small chances of
joining the European Union. Ankara maintains that the word genocide
is unfair and that killings took place on both sides in what it calls
ethnic conflicts. Armenians, backed by most international historians,
claim that 1.5 million Armenians were massacred as the Ottoman Empire
came to an end.
http://www.paris-link-home.com/news/121/ARTI CLE/1409/2006-11-16.html
Gareth Cartman
Paris Link, France
Nov 16 2006
The issue of the proposed law penalising denial of the Armenian
genocide continues to rumble on. Turkey has cut off military ties
with France, one of its main suppliers.
Turkey's continued belligerence in the face of a law proposed by the
French Assemblee National has resulted in the freezing of military
relations between the two countries. The proposal, which proposed
criminalising denial of the Armenian genocide during the First World
War, has no chance of becoming law, and was voted through the lower
house thanks to mass abstention.
General Ilker Basbug, the Turkish commander, announced the suspension
last night, adding that there would be no military visits between the
two countries and that none had been planned. Turkey, for so long a
customer of France's armament production, has already taken a strong
line against France, encouraging consumer boycotts and suspending
business deals.
The proposed law has received international criticism, with the EU
claiming that it has harmed negotiations with Turkey. Internally,
the proposal has been given a lukewarm reception, with President
Jacques Chirac privately fuming at the attempt to pass the law through
parliament. Chirac attempted to calm the situation in a conversation
with Prime Minister Erdogan, and will annul the proposal if it gets
through the senate.
The issue further clouds Turkey's increasingly small chances of
joining the European Union. Ankara maintains that the word genocide
is unfair and that killings took place on both sides in what it calls
ethnic conflicts. Armenians, backed by most international historians,
claim that 1.5 million Armenians were massacred as the Ottoman Empire
came to an end.
http://www.paris-link-home.com/news/121/ARTI CLE/1409/2006-11-16.html