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China: Turkey slams France over adoption of Armenian genocide bill

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  • China: Turkey slams France over adoption of Armenian genocide bill

    People's Daily, China
    Oct 13 2006

    Turkey slams France over adoption of Armenian genocide bill



    Turkish Foreign Ministry on Thursday slammed the French Parliament's
    adoption of a proposed draft law criminalizing any denial of the
    alleged massacres of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire during World
    War I.

    Relations between Turkey and France have suffered "a heavy blow due
    to irresponsible initiatives of several French politicians who are
    not able to predict consequences of their policies," the ministry
    said in a statement.

    "Despite our all diplomatic and parliamentary initiatives, and
    efforts of our citizens living in France, non-governmental
    organizations and business circles, the French parliament adopted the
    bill submitted by the Socialist Party on criminalizing of any denial
    of so-called Armenian genocide. We profoundly regret the adoption of
    the bill," the statement said.

    French lawmakers on Thursday voted 106-19 for the bill, which calls
    for up to a year in prison and fines of up to 56,000 U.S. dollars for
    anyone who denies the Armenian genocide, according to the Turkish
    media.

    The bill must be passed by the Senate and signed by French President
    Jacques Chirac, the reports said.

    Reacting to the adoption of the bill, Turkish Parliament Speaker
    Bulent Arinc said on Thursday, "It is a shameful and hostile
    resolution. It is totally unacceptable."

    Arinc expressed his regret over adoption of the draft and said,
    "France is considered the cradle of individual freedoms. This
    decision contradicts with freedom of thought and expression."

    Turkey, a secular Muslim country which is seeking for the European
    Union (EU) membership, has vowed to impose economic sanctions on
    France if the bill is passed in the French parliament.

    According to the Zaman daily newspaper, Turkey is the fifth- largest
    customer of France outside the EU. The volume of trade between Turkey
    and France is about 10 billion dollars. French exports to Turkey are
    5.9 billion dollars while its import remains at 3.8 billion dollars.

    Turkey has always denied that up to 1.5 million Armenians were
    subjected to genocide in the period between 1915 and 1923.

    However, it does acknowledge that up to 300,000 Armenians died during
    fighting and efforts to relocate populations away from the war zone
    in eastern Turkey.

    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
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