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TURKS SEEK TO AVERT FRENCH ARMENIAN GENOCIDE BILL BY ALL MEANS
By Aryeh ben Hayim
Arutz Sheva
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/150921
Dec 20 2011
Israel
The Turkish government is pulling out all the stops to get France to
shelve a bill criminalizing denial of Turkish crimes against Armenians
Turkey is doing its utmost to head off a bill in the French National
Assembly that would criminalize the denial of the Armenian genocide
of 1915. The Armenians claim that one and a half million Armenians
died as result of mass deportations by the Turkish Ottomans.
Turkish President Abdullah Gul warned the French that they were
jeopardizing centuries of friendship in return for "small political
calculations". The Turks view French president Nicolas Sarkozy as
hostile to them and a major roadblock in their quest to join the
European Union. The political calculations Gul referred to were
apparently Sarkozy's wish to woo voters for the National Front who
regard France's Muslim population with hostility.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan essentially warned the French
that they were opening a Pandora's Box given French Imperial history.
He recommended that the French National Assembly investigate how
many people France killed during the war in Algeria or France's
responsibility for the genocide in Rwanda.
The Turks are also raising the issue of free speech by claiming the
right to dispute the Armenian version. A Turkish academic interviewed
by the pro-government Zaman said "Neither those who say that it was
genocide nor those who say that it was not should be punished". This
is a bit rich for a for a country that punishes people for insulting
"Turkishness.".
The major Turkish retaliatory threat is in the economic realm. Turkey
can boycott French cars in a country where French carmakers have a 20%
market share. Turkey can refuse to buy Airbus planes thus impacting
the French job market.
As the Turkish economy grew by 8.2% compared with France's anemic
growth the Turks believe that they hold the economic upper hand and
can force France to cave.
By Aryeh ben Hayim
Arutz Sheva
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/150921
Dec 20 2011
Israel
The Turkish government is pulling out all the stops to get France to
shelve a bill criminalizing denial of Turkish crimes against Armenians
Turkey is doing its utmost to head off a bill in the French National
Assembly that would criminalize the denial of the Armenian genocide
of 1915. The Armenians claim that one and a half million Armenians
died as result of mass deportations by the Turkish Ottomans.
Turkish President Abdullah Gul warned the French that they were
jeopardizing centuries of friendship in return for "small political
calculations". The Turks view French president Nicolas Sarkozy as
hostile to them and a major roadblock in their quest to join the
European Union. The political calculations Gul referred to were
apparently Sarkozy's wish to woo voters for the National Front who
regard France's Muslim population with hostility.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan essentially warned the French
that they were opening a Pandora's Box given French Imperial history.
He recommended that the French National Assembly investigate how
many people France killed during the war in Algeria or France's
responsibility for the genocide in Rwanda.
The Turks are also raising the issue of free speech by claiming the
right to dispute the Armenian version. A Turkish academic interviewed
by the pro-government Zaman said "Neither those who say that it was
genocide nor those who say that it was not should be punished". This
is a bit rich for a for a country that punishes people for insulting
"Turkishness.".
The major Turkish retaliatory threat is in the economic realm. Turkey
can boycott French cars in a country where French carmakers have a 20%
market share. Turkey can refuse to buy Airbus planes thus impacting
the French job market.
As the Turkish economy grew by 8.2% compared with France's anemic
growth the Turks believe that they hold the economic upper hand and
can force France to cave.