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LEARNING LESSONS FROM THE FRENCH BILL
Today's Zaman
Dec 22 2011
Turkey
Turkey has been directing harsh criticisms and issuing warnings to
France over a bill that proposes to make it a crime to deny that
the Ottomans' mass killing of Armenians in 1915 was genocide. The
criticisms mostly center on the bill blocking individuals' freedom
of expression and France using Armenians as an instrument for politics.
The French parliament is expected to vote on the bill on Thursday,
which will see an end to the debates of whether the bill will be
passed or not, but could spark new debates if the bill is passed.
Bugun daily's Ahmet TaĆ~_getiren says President Nicolas Sarkozy is
using Armenians for political gain and uses an imaginary incident
to illustrate this. "If an Armenian who was killed in 1915 in an
Anatolian village came back to life today, he would probably spit on
Sarkozy's face and say, 'You are doing politics by using my name'."
TaĆ~_getiren points out that it is a known fact that France's image
has been damaged recently and that it is trying to regain respect by
manipulating Armenians to vote for Sarkozy. He described the attempt
as an attack on science as it aims to prevent people from questioning.
"If it is all about reacting to atrocities, what about the Muslims
who were slaughtered in the Balkans? Is that not regarded as an
atrocity when the victims are Muslim and the murderers are protected
by Europeans? Is that why France does not want to recall its killings
in Algeria and Rwanda?"
Milliyet's Fikret Bila holds the same view as TaĆ~_getiren, and says
it cannot be said that France's move shows the common view held by
French society but rather it is Sarkozy's way of gaining more votes
in the election. Bila goes on to say that the best response to France
came from Orhan Dink, the brother of slain Turkish-Armenian journalist
Hrant Dink. In an interview with the Hurriyet daily's Ugur Ergan,
Orhan Dink addressed the Armenians, saying: "This pain should not be
left in the hands of politicians." After describing the French bill
as a violation of human rights, Dink said: "The Turkish Parliament
should discuss our ancestors' tragedy, not other nations. Unless the
Turkish people receive the Armenians with open arms, the Armenians
will always be an instrument in politics." Bila said the point Dink
made is entirely right; the Turkish Parliament should launch an
initiative to encourage historians to carry out in-depth research on
the Armenian killings and clarify the issue.
Star's Fehmi Koru makes another point concerning the French genocide
denial bill. In light of the latest operation against the Kurdish
Communities Union (KCK), in which police detained 41 people -- mostly
journalists -- accused of being involved in a terrorist organization,
Koru says it is a bizarre coincidence that at a time when Turkey is
opposing a French bill, arguing that it will infringe on people's
freedom of expression, the police are detaining journalists over their
journalistic activities, saying they are related to KCK activities.
Koru notes that the police might be confusing "propagandizing a
terrorist organization's ideologies" with "expressing one's own ideas."
Today's Zaman
Dec 22 2011
Turkey
Turkey has been directing harsh criticisms and issuing warnings to
France over a bill that proposes to make it a crime to deny that
the Ottomans' mass killing of Armenians in 1915 was genocide. The
criticisms mostly center on the bill blocking individuals' freedom
of expression and France using Armenians as an instrument for politics.
The French parliament is expected to vote on the bill on Thursday,
which will see an end to the debates of whether the bill will be
passed or not, but could spark new debates if the bill is passed.
Bugun daily's Ahmet TaĆ~_getiren says President Nicolas Sarkozy is
using Armenians for political gain and uses an imaginary incident
to illustrate this. "If an Armenian who was killed in 1915 in an
Anatolian village came back to life today, he would probably spit on
Sarkozy's face and say, 'You are doing politics by using my name'."
TaĆ~_getiren points out that it is a known fact that France's image
has been damaged recently and that it is trying to regain respect by
manipulating Armenians to vote for Sarkozy. He described the attempt
as an attack on science as it aims to prevent people from questioning.
"If it is all about reacting to atrocities, what about the Muslims
who were slaughtered in the Balkans? Is that not regarded as an
atrocity when the victims are Muslim and the murderers are protected
by Europeans? Is that why France does not want to recall its killings
in Algeria and Rwanda?"
Milliyet's Fikret Bila holds the same view as TaĆ~_getiren, and says
it cannot be said that France's move shows the common view held by
French society but rather it is Sarkozy's way of gaining more votes
in the election. Bila goes on to say that the best response to France
came from Orhan Dink, the brother of slain Turkish-Armenian journalist
Hrant Dink. In an interview with the Hurriyet daily's Ugur Ergan,
Orhan Dink addressed the Armenians, saying: "This pain should not be
left in the hands of politicians." After describing the French bill
as a violation of human rights, Dink said: "The Turkish Parliament
should discuss our ancestors' tragedy, not other nations. Unless the
Turkish people receive the Armenians with open arms, the Armenians
will always be an instrument in politics." Bila said the point Dink
made is entirely right; the Turkish Parliament should launch an
initiative to encourage historians to carry out in-depth research on
the Armenian killings and clarify the issue.
Star's Fehmi Koru makes another point concerning the French genocide
denial bill. In light of the latest operation against the Kurdish
Communities Union (KCK), in which police detained 41 people -- mostly
journalists -- accused of being involved in a terrorist organization,
Koru says it is a bizarre coincidence that at a time when Turkey is
opposing a French bill, arguing that it will infringe on people's
freedom of expression, the police are detaining journalists over their
journalistic activities, saying they are related to KCK activities.
Koru notes that the police might be confusing "propagandizing a
terrorist organization's ideologies" with "expressing one's own ideas."