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ANKARA WARNS PARIS OF 'IRREPARABLE DAMAGE' IF GENOCIDE BILL APPROVED
Today's Zaman
Dec 12 2011
Turkey
Ankara has warned France of the "irreparable damage" that could ensue
should France's latest move to criminalize denying that an alleged
Armenian genocide took place in Turkey in 1915 be passed next week
in the French parliament.
"Turkish efforts and contact [with French officials] are ongoing at
the moment," Turkish officials told Today's Zaman on Monday, as they
recalled statements from Ankara that urge France not to politicize a
historical matter that is very sensitive for both Turks and Armenians.
"The French administration is well aware of the sensitivity of this
issue [the Armenian genocide] for our country. We hope that no steps
that could cause irreparable damage will be taken at a time when
Turkey and France have entered a stable phase that could increase
opportunities of cooperation at bilateral and international levels,"
a statement released by the Foreign Ministry said on Friday, as Ankara
repeated once more that it regarded such attempts as "reoccurring
events" ahead of elections in France.
Turkey's reaction to the move has been revived as the French parliament
readies to vote a legislation that could make denying the 1915 events
that took place in Turkey as genocide punishable by up to one year in
prison and a fine of 45,000 euros, the Anatolia news agency reported
on Monday. The voting, however, is not the first time France has
mulled over criminalizing the denial of the events as genocide,
as the French National Assembly adopted a bill in 2006, proposing
that anyone who denied the "Armenian genocide," would be punished,
but the bill was dropped the same year before coming to the senate.
Since France officially recognized the genocide in 2001, stirring
up heated but short-lived tension between France and Turkey, French
governments have attempted to introduce penalties for denying the
alleged Armenian genocide several times, all of which were turned
down before gaining full force.
The debate was most recently revived in October, when French President
Nicholas Sarkozy urged Turkey during a visit to Armenia to recognize
the killing of Armenians at the onset of World War I as genocide and
threatened to pass a legislation that would criminalize its denial
if the country failed to do so. The president's remarks, which drew
instant and sharp criticism from top Turkish officials, were claimed
to have been "misunderstood," as his aide, Jean David Levitte, told
the Turkish Embassy in Paris a few days after the incident. Citing
diplomatic sources, Anatolia reported mid-October that Levitte stressed
French appraisal of Turkey as a great country and that France did
not want a face off with Turkey over the Armenian issue.
At the time, Sarkozy's words drew a stormy reaction from Turkish
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan who regarded his approach
as "usual election-time fodder" aimed at pleasing the Armenian
diaspora. Erdogan also commented that he found Sarkozy's remarks
ironic, coming from a leader of a former colonizing country, while
other Turkish officials have expressed views that Sarkozy is trying
to increase French influence in Armenia and have a stronger say in
the Caucuses by abusing the sensitive issue between Turkey and Armenia.
Meanwhile on Sunday, Turkish EU Minister and Chief Negotiator Egemen
BagıÅ~_ retaliated against Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan's
remarks that Turkey would be governed by a true European government
that would bow in respect before the genocide monument in Yerevan,
saying that Sarksyan was "overstepping his boundaries" with such
remarks. "Nobody has the power to make Turkey bow down," BagıÅ~_
told reporters, as he accused the Armenian government of weakening
the people of Armenia with hunger and poverty and forcing half of
the country's population to flee to other countries, including Turkey.
Turkey and Armenia have long been in a deadlock caused by the mass
killings of Armenians during the fall of the Ottoman Empire, as
Armenia insists the killings constitute genocide, while Turkey says
the killings happened during civil war and people from all ethnicities
and religions suffered tragic losses at that time.
Today's Zaman
Dec 12 2011
Turkey
Ankara has warned France of the "irreparable damage" that could ensue
should France's latest move to criminalize denying that an alleged
Armenian genocide took place in Turkey in 1915 be passed next week
in the French parliament.
"Turkish efforts and contact [with French officials] are ongoing at
the moment," Turkish officials told Today's Zaman on Monday, as they
recalled statements from Ankara that urge France not to politicize a
historical matter that is very sensitive for both Turks and Armenians.
"The French administration is well aware of the sensitivity of this
issue [the Armenian genocide] for our country. We hope that no steps
that could cause irreparable damage will be taken at a time when
Turkey and France have entered a stable phase that could increase
opportunities of cooperation at bilateral and international levels,"
a statement released by the Foreign Ministry said on Friday, as Ankara
repeated once more that it regarded such attempts as "reoccurring
events" ahead of elections in France.
Turkey's reaction to the move has been revived as the French parliament
readies to vote a legislation that could make denying the 1915 events
that took place in Turkey as genocide punishable by up to one year in
prison and a fine of 45,000 euros, the Anatolia news agency reported
on Monday. The voting, however, is not the first time France has
mulled over criminalizing the denial of the events as genocide,
as the French National Assembly adopted a bill in 2006, proposing
that anyone who denied the "Armenian genocide," would be punished,
but the bill was dropped the same year before coming to the senate.
Since France officially recognized the genocide in 2001, stirring
up heated but short-lived tension between France and Turkey, French
governments have attempted to introduce penalties for denying the
alleged Armenian genocide several times, all of which were turned
down before gaining full force.
The debate was most recently revived in October, when French President
Nicholas Sarkozy urged Turkey during a visit to Armenia to recognize
the killing of Armenians at the onset of World War I as genocide and
threatened to pass a legislation that would criminalize its denial
if the country failed to do so. The president's remarks, which drew
instant and sharp criticism from top Turkish officials, were claimed
to have been "misunderstood," as his aide, Jean David Levitte, told
the Turkish Embassy in Paris a few days after the incident. Citing
diplomatic sources, Anatolia reported mid-October that Levitte stressed
French appraisal of Turkey as a great country and that France did
not want a face off with Turkey over the Armenian issue.
At the time, Sarkozy's words drew a stormy reaction from Turkish
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan who regarded his approach
as "usual election-time fodder" aimed at pleasing the Armenian
diaspora. Erdogan also commented that he found Sarkozy's remarks
ironic, coming from a leader of a former colonizing country, while
other Turkish officials have expressed views that Sarkozy is trying
to increase French influence in Armenia and have a stronger say in
the Caucuses by abusing the sensitive issue between Turkey and Armenia.
Meanwhile on Sunday, Turkish EU Minister and Chief Negotiator Egemen
BagıÅ~_ retaliated against Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan's
remarks that Turkey would be governed by a true European government
that would bow in respect before the genocide monument in Yerevan,
saying that Sarksyan was "overstepping his boundaries" with such
remarks. "Nobody has the power to make Turkey bow down," BagıÅ~_
told reporters, as he accused the Armenian government of weakening
the people of Armenia with hunger and poverty and forcing half of
the country's population to flee to other countries, including Turkey.
Turkey and Armenia have long been in a deadlock caused by the mass
killings of Armenians during the fall of the Ottoman Empire, as
Armenia insists the killings constitute genocide, while Turkey says
the killings happened during civil war and people from all ethnicities
and religions suffered tragic losses at that time.