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The Herald (Glasgow)
December 17, 2011 Saturday
1 Edition
Turkey warning to France on law
Turkey has warned France that its political and economic relations
would suffer grave consequences if the French Parliament passed a
draft law making it illegal to deny that the 1915 mass killing of
Armenians in the Ottoman Empire was genocide.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, a vocal critic of Turkey s
long-standing, but slow-moving bid to join the European Union, told
Turkey in October that unless it recognised the killings as genocide,
France would consider making denial a crime.
The draft law, put forward by a deputy from Mr Sarkozy s party, is due
to go before Parliament next week and proposes a one-year prison
sentence and 45,000 fine for denying the killings constitute genocide.
This proposed law targets and is hostile to the Republic of Turkey,
the Turkish nation and the Turkish community living in France, Turkish
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan wrote in a letter to Mr Sarkozy.
I want to state clearly that such steps will have grave consequences
for future relations between Turkey and France in political, economic,
cultural and all areas and the responsibility will rest with those
behind this initiative.
Armenia, backed by many historians and parliaments, says some 1.5
million Christian Armenians were killed in what is now eastern Turkey
during the First World War in a deliberate policy of genocide by the
Ottoman Empire.
Ankara denies the killings constitute genocide and says many Muslim
Turks and Kurds were also put to death as Russian troops invaded
eastern Anatolia, often aided by Armenian militias.
Turkish-French relations should not be held captive by demands of
third parties, Mr Erdogan said.
December 17, 2011 Saturday
1 Edition
Turkey warning to France on law
Turkey has warned France that its political and economic relations
would suffer grave consequences if the French Parliament passed a
draft law making it illegal to deny that the 1915 mass killing of
Armenians in the Ottoman Empire was genocide.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, a vocal critic of Turkey s
long-standing, but slow-moving bid to join the European Union, told
Turkey in October that unless it recognised the killings as genocide,
France would consider making denial a crime.
The draft law, put forward by a deputy from Mr Sarkozy s party, is due
to go before Parliament next week and proposes a one-year prison
sentence and 45,000 fine for denying the killings constitute genocide.
This proposed law targets and is hostile to the Republic of Turkey,
the Turkish nation and the Turkish community living in France, Turkish
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan wrote in a letter to Mr Sarkozy.
I want to state clearly that such steps will have grave consequences
for future relations between Turkey and France in political, economic,
cultural and all areas and the responsibility will rest with those
behind this initiative.
Armenia, backed by many historians and parliaments, says some 1.5
million Christian Armenians were killed in what is now eastern Turkey
during the First World War in a deliberate policy of genocide by the
Ottoman Empire.
Ankara denies the killings constitute genocide and says many Muslim
Turks and Kurds were also put to death as Russian troops invaded
eastern Anatolia, often aided by Armenian militias.
Turkish-French relations should not be held captive by demands of
third parties, Mr Erdogan said.