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TURKEY SENDS DELEGATIONS TO FRANCE TO AVERT GENOCIDE BILL ON ALL FRONTS
Today's Zaman
Dec 19 2011
Turkey
Turkey has been lobbying with full force to counter a French bill
that aims to penalize denial of alleged Armenian genocide in France,
as multiple delegations from the ruling party, opposition lawmakers,
Turkish business people and civil society organizations embark on a
Paris trip to warn French officials of the possible damage the denial
bill could cause.
"Our hope is that the bill will not be put on the agenda on Dec. 22,"
Volkan Bozkır, head of Parliament's Foreign Affairs Commission, told
the Cihan news agency on Monday, as he led the Ankara delegation to
Paris earlier this week to relay Turkey's concerns to French officials,
whom the delegation will meet until Thursday. In the event that the
bill gets placed on the agenda, Bozkır expressed hope that the denial
proposal would get "aborted" by the French Senate. Bozkır's delegation
is expected to meet Jean Levitte, French President Nicolas Sarkozy's
diplomacy advisor, and French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe on Tuesday,
Cihan reported.
As part of efforts to express Turkey's discomfort with the bill,
which makes denial of alleged Armenian genocide a crime punishable
by a one-year prison sentence and a fine of 45,000 euros, Bozkır's
delegation reaffirmed faith in the strength of Turkish-French relations
in Paris, but warned that the bill could erupt into a crisis at a time
when relations were at their best. "Disruption in relations between
Turkey and France will not yield positive results in Turkey either,
but we have run out of patience," he said in hope that Turkish warnings
bring about reconsideration with the French legislature.
Turkish-French relations had sustained a crisis when the French Senate
in 2001 passed a law that recognizes the killing of Armenians during
the collapse of the Ottoman Empire as genocide, but relations were
repaired in its aftermath.
The Parliament delegation led by Bozkır is expected to conduct
bilateral meetings with various French officials, starting with Axel
Poniatowski, president of the foreign affairs commission in parliament,
and Pierre Moscovici of the Socialist Party, Cihan reported. Another
meeting with Bernard Accoyer, parliament speaker, is also on the
agenda of the delegation, after they meet with Levitte and Juppe.
Opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) lawmakers Haluk Koc and
Osman Koruturk were also dispatched from Ankara by CHP leader Kemal
Kılıcdaroglu to contact French officials to discuss the probable
risks of the bill, the Anatolia news agency reported over the weekend.
Another CHP lawmaker, Akif Hamzacebi, also alleged on Monday that
"French history is full of dirty pages," referring to "massacres in
Rwanda and Algeria," as he suggested that France would not be fit to
lead discussions regarding killing and genocide, Anatolia reported.
The French bill also triggered a wave of reaction from Turkish
business circles, which have expressed their reservations regarding
the financial implications of the passage of such a denial bill,
since France and Turkey have strong mutual trade ties, and both
countries have several companies that conduct business with each
other. A delegation consisting of businesspeople, led by Turkish
Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB) President Rifat
Hisarcıklıoglu and Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen's
Association (TUSİAD) Chairwoman Umit Boyner is also scheduled
to engage in contacts with French business people with the aim of
convincing them to increase pressure on French officials regarding
the bill.
Last week, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu invited executives of
French companies investing heavily in Turkey to the Foreign Ministry
and discussed the possible damage their business might receive in the
aftermath of the bill. Davutoglu told reporters after the meeting that
it was the French executives' call whether to act on the warning and
pressure French parties.
Civil society organizations (CSO) both inside and outside Turkey
also issued harsh messages to France, as two Germany-based CSOs
made statements on Monday that France would be blocking freedom of
expression, on top of risking its ties with Turkey, an ancient ally.
They elaborated by saying that the law would bar historians from
conducting objective research and expressing their views, in fear
of conviction under the proposed law. They further urged France to
leave history to historians, whom they said did not share the same
opinion on the incidents of 1915 and said multiple archives should
be opened up to clarify the issue.
In a surprising development, the Chief of Staff announced on Monday
that a French military transportation plane violated Turkish airspace
on the southwestern coast of the country for three minutes on Saturday,
the Anka news agency reported. The Chief of Staff announcement also
noted that the incident was referred to the Foreign Ministry. The
violation constituted the first incident of a violated of Turkish
airspace this year, as such violations usually occur between Turkey
and Greece, according to Anka.
Meanwhile on Sunday, Davutoglu raised the level of official warnings
to France, saying relations would be hurt and the Turkish ambassador
would be withdrawn if the bill passes and pledging an exact retaliation
to France: Turkey would speak of French massacres of the past wherever
they occurred, particularly with regard to Africa.
"We are ready to open up archives and conduct research on the matter,
on any platform. This is what facing history is," Davutoglu said at
a ministerial EU progress review meeting in Konya, in response to
Sarkozy's remarks that Turkey should face its past and recognize the
alleged genocide. "If you try to take away our opportunity to face
history [by blocking freedom of expression], we will start commenting
on French colonial history whichever country we visit," he said to
warn that Turkey will wage a campaign similar to Sarkozy's and recall
French killings of the past, particularly in Africa.
If we are going to dig up all the files from history, we will dig
them all up, Davutoglu added, warning France that Turkey would force
the country to face past actions by talking about "facts regarding
French history all over the world." Davutoglu also claimed that the
timing of the discussion for the bill, Dec 22, was significant since
it coincidence with the killing of a Turkish diplomat, Yılmaz Colpan,
in France in a terrorist attack, claimed by an Armenian terrorist
group that was allegedly murdering Turkish diplomat to avenge the
deaths of Armenians.
Calling the French vote "an attempt at abusing history with political
motives," Parliament Speaker Cemil Cicek urged France to act with
common sense so that "France does not pay a heavy toll in the future."
Many other Turkish officials voiced similar comments in the past
week, but French responses to the warnings suggested that French
officials interpreted such words as bluffs and did not put much stock
in the issue.
Today's Zaman
Dec 19 2011
Turkey
Turkey has been lobbying with full force to counter a French bill
that aims to penalize denial of alleged Armenian genocide in France,
as multiple delegations from the ruling party, opposition lawmakers,
Turkish business people and civil society organizations embark on a
Paris trip to warn French officials of the possible damage the denial
bill could cause.
"Our hope is that the bill will not be put on the agenda on Dec. 22,"
Volkan Bozkır, head of Parliament's Foreign Affairs Commission, told
the Cihan news agency on Monday, as he led the Ankara delegation to
Paris earlier this week to relay Turkey's concerns to French officials,
whom the delegation will meet until Thursday. In the event that the
bill gets placed on the agenda, Bozkır expressed hope that the denial
proposal would get "aborted" by the French Senate. Bozkır's delegation
is expected to meet Jean Levitte, French President Nicolas Sarkozy's
diplomacy advisor, and French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe on Tuesday,
Cihan reported.
As part of efforts to express Turkey's discomfort with the bill,
which makes denial of alleged Armenian genocide a crime punishable
by a one-year prison sentence and a fine of 45,000 euros, Bozkır's
delegation reaffirmed faith in the strength of Turkish-French relations
in Paris, but warned that the bill could erupt into a crisis at a time
when relations were at their best. "Disruption in relations between
Turkey and France will not yield positive results in Turkey either,
but we have run out of patience," he said in hope that Turkish warnings
bring about reconsideration with the French legislature.
Turkish-French relations had sustained a crisis when the French Senate
in 2001 passed a law that recognizes the killing of Armenians during
the collapse of the Ottoman Empire as genocide, but relations were
repaired in its aftermath.
The Parliament delegation led by Bozkır is expected to conduct
bilateral meetings with various French officials, starting with Axel
Poniatowski, president of the foreign affairs commission in parliament,
and Pierre Moscovici of the Socialist Party, Cihan reported. Another
meeting with Bernard Accoyer, parliament speaker, is also on the
agenda of the delegation, after they meet with Levitte and Juppe.
Opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) lawmakers Haluk Koc and
Osman Koruturk were also dispatched from Ankara by CHP leader Kemal
Kılıcdaroglu to contact French officials to discuss the probable
risks of the bill, the Anatolia news agency reported over the weekend.
Another CHP lawmaker, Akif Hamzacebi, also alleged on Monday that
"French history is full of dirty pages," referring to "massacres in
Rwanda and Algeria," as he suggested that France would not be fit to
lead discussions regarding killing and genocide, Anatolia reported.
The French bill also triggered a wave of reaction from Turkish
business circles, which have expressed their reservations regarding
the financial implications of the passage of such a denial bill,
since France and Turkey have strong mutual trade ties, and both
countries have several companies that conduct business with each
other. A delegation consisting of businesspeople, led by Turkish
Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB) President Rifat
Hisarcıklıoglu and Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen's
Association (TUSİAD) Chairwoman Umit Boyner is also scheduled
to engage in contacts with French business people with the aim of
convincing them to increase pressure on French officials regarding
the bill.
Last week, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu invited executives of
French companies investing heavily in Turkey to the Foreign Ministry
and discussed the possible damage their business might receive in the
aftermath of the bill. Davutoglu told reporters after the meeting that
it was the French executives' call whether to act on the warning and
pressure French parties.
Civil society organizations (CSO) both inside and outside Turkey
also issued harsh messages to France, as two Germany-based CSOs
made statements on Monday that France would be blocking freedom of
expression, on top of risking its ties with Turkey, an ancient ally.
They elaborated by saying that the law would bar historians from
conducting objective research and expressing their views, in fear
of conviction under the proposed law. They further urged France to
leave history to historians, whom they said did not share the same
opinion on the incidents of 1915 and said multiple archives should
be opened up to clarify the issue.
In a surprising development, the Chief of Staff announced on Monday
that a French military transportation plane violated Turkish airspace
on the southwestern coast of the country for three minutes on Saturday,
the Anka news agency reported. The Chief of Staff announcement also
noted that the incident was referred to the Foreign Ministry. The
violation constituted the first incident of a violated of Turkish
airspace this year, as such violations usually occur between Turkey
and Greece, according to Anka.
Meanwhile on Sunday, Davutoglu raised the level of official warnings
to France, saying relations would be hurt and the Turkish ambassador
would be withdrawn if the bill passes and pledging an exact retaliation
to France: Turkey would speak of French massacres of the past wherever
they occurred, particularly with regard to Africa.
"We are ready to open up archives and conduct research on the matter,
on any platform. This is what facing history is," Davutoglu said at
a ministerial EU progress review meeting in Konya, in response to
Sarkozy's remarks that Turkey should face its past and recognize the
alleged genocide. "If you try to take away our opportunity to face
history [by blocking freedom of expression], we will start commenting
on French colonial history whichever country we visit," he said to
warn that Turkey will wage a campaign similar to Sarkozy's and recall
French killings of the past, particularly in Africa.
If we are going to dig up all the files from history, we will dig
them all up, Davutoglu added, warning France that Turkey would force
the country to face past actions by talking about "facts regarding
French history all over the world." Davutoglu also claimed that the
timing of the discussion for the bill, Dec 22, was significant since
it coincidence with the killing of a Turkish diplomat, Yılmaz Colpan,
in France in a terrorist attack, claimed by an Armenian terrorist
group that was allegedly murdering Turkish diplomat to avenge the
deaths of Armenians.
Calling the French vote "an attempt at abusing history with political
motives," Parliament Speaker Cemil Cicek urged France to act with
common sense so that "France does not pay a heavy toll in the future."
Many other Turkish officials voiced similar comments in the past
week, but French responses to the warnings suggested that French
officials interpreted such words as bluffs and did not put much stock
in the issue.