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ANKARA: The Biggest Conflict

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  • ANKARA: The Biggest Conflict

    Turkish Press
    Oct 13 2006

    The Biggest Conflict
    Published: 10/12/2006



    BY FEHMI KORU
    YENI SAFAK- Why did politicians in France wait until 2001 to write a
    law on the so-called Armenian genocide? France is the biggest
    obstacle to Turkey's EU membership. We know this from its stance when
    decisions were taken about Turkey's EU membership talks. France was
    among the EU countries which was most opposed to the European
    Constitution. When people talk about a `train crash` on the way to
    the EU, everybody thinks of the possibility of our membership being
    rejected through a referendum in France. France is different from all
    the other European countries. However, Turkey might be one of the
    closest countries to it. Ottoman intellectuals knew France as the
    `West,' and when the Westernization reforms were implemented, the
    reformers took France as an example. The founders of the Republic
    were Ottoman intellectuals. Naturally, France was the `level of
    modern civilization' for them.


    The law on which Turkey based its administrative structure was the
    product of the first half of the 19th century and translated from the
    Napoleonic Code. Almost all the legislation aimed at turning Turkey
    into a Western country is the product of the same era, and France was
    taken as an example for this. During the early years of the Republic,
    France maintained this `exemplary' situation. Our intellectuals spoke
    French and knew texts in French. In sum, although France isn't our
    soulmate, now it's excluding and opposing itself to the country which
    most resembles it in this region.


    A similar analysis can be done of Armenians, which caused French
    politicians to oppose Turkey just for votes. The Ottomans trusted the
    Armenians the most. The Armenian people established the closest links
    with Turkish society, and they were familiar with our culture and
    contributed to our national heritage. Even today the presence of
    Armenians who live illegally in Turkey shows that Armenians see
    Turkey differently from their state. France, the country that we
    resemble the most in the West, doesn't consider it harmful to pass a
    meaningless law which drives Turkey into a corner on the
    international stage with the pressure of Armenia, which is fated to
    get on well with us in the east. This is the biggest conflict that
    we're facing now. Not the Armenians in Armenia, but the Armenians who
    live in other countries (the diaspora) are looking for revenge, and
    the number of French politicians determined to pass a law punishing
    those who deny the so-called Armenian genocide is small. When these
    two facts come together, difficult circumstances might emerge against
    Turkey. The question of why it's happening now in France has only one
    answer: France had great leaders in the past, but now it lacks a
    leadership which can take responsibility on critical issues, turn its
    back on petty interests, and look at problems from the vantage point
    of history. Can we expect leadership from leaders who don't realize
    that this law will do the exact opposite of its stated intention?
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