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TURKISH PARLIAMENT CRITICIZES FRANCE
Zaman, Turkey
Oct 18 2006
The Turkish parliament issued an indirect condemnation of the French
parliament's acceptance of a bill criminalizing the denial of the
so-called Armenian genocide Tuesday. The common declaration of
the parliament emphasized that acceptance of the bill would cause
irreversible damages to political, economic and military relations
between Turkey and France.
The declaration called France to retreat from its "historical mistake,"
stating that the bill harmed Turkey's struggle to normalize its
relations with Armenia. The declaration also said that France caused
more than one million deaths in its own past, primarily in Algeria,
and read, "The burden of policies harming Turkey and Turkish people
will be very large."
Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said Turkey might apply to
international courts in opposition to the bill that French parliament
accepted.
Gul informed the deputies during a special parliamentary session
that as the government they did their best to prevent the bill
from being accepted, adding: "We have another alternative and our
government will not abstain from applying this method. We will use
all of the means that international law allows, including applying
to an international court."
Gul emphasized that Turkey was never intolerant to other nations
throughout its long history and added France was trying to provoke
Armenia and the Armenian people just as it did during World War I.
Gul said Turkish culture was based on tolerance, and added: "If
our ancestors had applied assimilation toward the other nations in
the past, behaving in the same way that some countries, which are
giving us 'civilization' lessons at the moment, behaved previously,
many religions, languages and religion sects would not have survived
to the present day."
Gul said if the bill became operant in France, despite all their
warnings, it would be a great shame for France and irreversibly harm
political, economic and military relations between the two countries.
After the special meeting, the parliament accepted the declaration
prepared commonly by the members of all parties in the parliament.
The declaration read the genocide bill was accepted with the votes
of only one out of five French MPs, and many deputies could not
use their votes as they were against the acceptance of the bill and
further emphasized the bill was accepted under strong influence of
the Armenian minority in France.
The declaration also emphasized that although French politicians
thought it was the job of historians to discuss past events when their
own history was concerned, interestingly enough, they thought it was
the right of politicians to decide in Turkey's case.
The declaration emphasized that in the history of Turkey, no shameful
events have occurred, and as such the Turkish people had nothing to
hide from.
The Turkish parliament declaration also named many distinguished
international historians, including French ones, who did not
describe the events of 1915 as a "massacre," contrary to the claims
of Armenians.
Zaman, Turkey
Oct 18 2006
The Turkish parliament issued an indirect condemnation of the French
parliament's acceptance of a bill criminalizing the denial of the
so-called Armenian genocide Tuesday. The common declaration of
the parliament emphasized that acceptance of the bill would cause
irreversible damages to political, economic and military relations
between Turkey and France.
The declaration called France to retreat from its "historical mistake,"
stating that the bill harmed Turkey's struggle to normalize its
relations with Armenia. The declaration also said that France caused
more than one million deaths in its own past, primarily in Algeria,
and read, "The burden of policies harming Turkey and Turkish people
will be very large."
Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said Turkey might apply to
international courts in opposition to the bill that French parliament
accepted.
Gul informed the deputies during a special parliamentary session
that as the government they did their best to prevent the bill
from being accepted, adding: "We have another alternative and our
government will not abstain from applying this method. We will use
all of the means that international law allows, including applying
to an international court."
Gul emphasized that Turkey was never intolerant to other nations
throughout its long history and added France was trying to provoke
Armenia and the Armenian people just as it did during World War I.
Gul said Turkish culture was based on tolerance, and added: "If
our ancestors had applied assimilation toward the other nations in
the past, behaving in the same way that some countries, which are
giving us 'civilization' lessons at the moment, behaved previously,
many religions, languages and religion sects would not have survived
to the present day."
Gul said if the bill became operant in France, despite all their
warnings, it would be a great shame for France and irreversibly harm
political, economic and military relations between the two countries.
After the special meeting, the parliament accepted the declaration
prepared commonly by the members of all parties in the parliament.
The declaration read the genocide bill was accepted with the votes
of only one out of five French MPs, and many deputies could not
use their votes as they were against the acceptance of the bill and
further emphasized the bill was accepted under strong influence of
the Armenian minority in France.
The declaration also emphasized that although French politicians
thought it was the job of historians to discuss past events when their
own history was concerned, interestingly enough, they thought it was
the right of politicians to decide in Turkey's case.
The declaration emphasized that in the history of Turkey, no shameful
events have occurred, and as such the Turkish people had nothing to
hide from.
The Turkish parliament declaration also named many distinguished
international historians, including French ones, who did not
describe the events of 1915 as a "massacre," contrary to the claims
of Armenians.