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TURKISH PARLIAMENT CRITICIZES FRANCE OVER CONTROVERSIAL ARMENIAN RESOLUTION
APA
Dec 21 2011
Azerbaijan
Baku-APA. The Turkish parliament Tuesday condemned its French
counterpart's move to debate a bill which would recognize the deaths
of Armenians in 1915 as "genocide", APA reports quoting Xinhua.
"It is a grave and a historic mistake for the French National Assembly
to agree to debate a biased, unjust and false bill that penalizes
rejecting so-called Armenian genocide. We condemn the prospective
debate of the bill which hurts Turkish people deeply," Meral Aksener,
a deputy speaker of the Turkish parliament, was quoted as reading a
declaration in the Turkish capital Ankara.
Turkey's President Abdullah Gul also urged France Tuesday to give up
voting on the bill and leave the writing of history to historians,
saying "it is impossible for Turkey to accept the bill. "
The Turkish Foreign Ministry has rejected the attempt as a pre-
election campaign move, according to the Anatolia report.
Meanwhile, head of the Turkey-European Union Joint Parliament
Commission Afif Demirkiran sent letters to 74 members of the European
Parliament with French origin, saying possible enactment of the
resolution will "hamper efforts to normalize Turkish- Armenian
relations" and "harm Turkish-French interests.
The French parliament is expected to vote on the bill Thursday.
If the resolution were adopted, those who deny genocide claims would
face a one-year prison term and 45,000 euros (59,040 U.S. dollars)
of fine, according to media reports.
Turkey and Armenia have had no diplomatic or economic ties since
Armenia declared independence in 1991. The two countries have been
bogged down in a dispute over the World War I-era deaths of Armenians
under the Ottoman rule. Armenia says the deaths occurred in "genocide,"
while Turkey denies the charge and insists that the Armenians were
victims of widespread chaos and governmental breakdown as the Ottoman
Empire collapsed before modern Turkey was created.
Turkey and Armenia signed protocols to normalize their relations and
open borders last year, but the pacts need to be approved by both
countries' parliaments before taking effect.
APA
Dec 21 2011
Azerbaijan
Baku-APA. The Turkish parliament Tuesday condemned its French
counterpart's move to debate a bill which would recognize the deaths
of Armenians in 1915 as "genocide", APA reports quoting Xinhua.
"It is a grave and a historic mistake for the French National Assembly
to agree to debate a biased, unjust and false bill that penalizes
rejecting so-called Armenian genocide. We condemn the prospective
debate of the bill which hurts Turkish people deeply," Meral Aksener,
a deputy speaker of the Turkish parliament, was quoted as reading a
declaration in the Turkish capital Ankara.
Turkey's President Abdullah Gul also urged France Tuesday to give up
voting on the bill and leave the writing of history to historians,
saying "it is impossible for Turkey to accept the bill. "
The Turkish Foreign Ministry has rejected the attempt as a pre-
election campaign move, according to the Anatolia report.
Meanwhile, head of the Turkey-European Union Joint Parliament
Commission Afif Demirkiran sent letters to 74 members of the European
Parliament with French origin, saying possible enactment of the
resolution will "hamper efforts to normalize Turkish- Armenian
relations" and "harm Turkish-French interests.
The French parliament is expected to vote on the bill Thursday.
If the resolution were adopted, those who deny genocide claims would
face a one-year prison term and 45,000 euros (59,040 U.S. dollars)
of fine, according to media reports.
Turkey and Armenia have had no diplomatic or economic ties since
Armenia declared independence in 1991. The two countries have been
bogged down in a dispute over the World War I-era deaths of Armenians
under the Ottoman rule. Armenia says the deaths occurred in "genocide,"
while Turkey denies the charge and insists that the Armenians were
victims of widespread chaos and governmental breakdown as the Ottoman
Empire collapsed before modern Turkey was created.
Turkey and Armenia signed protocols to normalize their relations and
open borders last year, but the pacts need to be approved by both
countries' parliaments before taking effect.