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ANKARA: Chirac Calls On Turkey To Acknowledge Its Past

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  • ANKARA: Chirac Calls On Turkey To Acknowledge Its Past

    CHIRAC CALLS ON TURKEY TO ACKNOWLEDGE ITS PAST
    By Cihan News Agency

    Zaman, Turkey
    Oct 1 2006

    French President Jacques Chirac has called on Turkey to "recognize
    its past" in connection with so-called Armenian genocide, which Turkey
    was claimed to have committed during World War I.

    Chirac and his Armenian counterpart Robert Kocharian held a joint press
    conference on Saturday in the Armenian capital of Yerevan following
    their meeting. The two leaders accused Turkey of not recognizing the
    so-called Armenian genocide.

    When asked if Turkey had to recognize the 'genocide' to join the
    European Union, Chirac stated "Honestly, I believe it does. Each
    country grows by acknowledging its dramas and mistakes of the past".

    Chirac contradicted previous statements he made that writing history
    was the job of historians, not of the laws, when arguing against the
    claims that France killed hundreds of thousands of Algerians between
    1954 and 1962.

    Hosting president Kocharian answered more softly and said that a
    neighbor that had open borders and allowed free movement would be to
    the interests of his country.

    This recent move of Chirac is likely to strain relations between
    Turkey and France, which passed a bill in 2001 recognizing the mass
    killing of Armenians in 1915 under the Ottoman Empire as "genocide".

    A drafted bill, which, if passed, would a maximum punishment of a
    year's imprisonment and a fine of ~@45,000 for those who deny the
    existence of the "Armenian genocide", will be discussed and voted on
    in the French parliament on Oct. 12.

    On Wednesday, the European Parliament adopted a report critical on
    Turkey's accession to the European Union, dropping a clause that
    would have made recognition of the mass killing of Armenians in the
    Ottoman Turkey as genocide a pre-condition for Turkey's membership.

    However, the parliament called on Turkey to "acknowledge the Armenian
    genocide."

    For further information please visit http://www.cihannews.com
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