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TURKEY ACCUSES FRANCE OF ALGERIAN GENOCIDE AS ROW ESCALATES
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/turkey/8975884/Turkey-accuses-France-of-Algerian-genocide-as-row-escalates.html
23 Dec 2011
Turkey's prime minister yesterday accused France of conducting a
"merciless" genocide in Algeria as he responded furiously to a vote
in the French parliament concerning the mass killing of Armenians by
the Ottoman Empire.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks in Istanbul Photo:
AFP/GETTYBy David Blair
Recep Tayyip Erdogan froze all diplomatic contact with France and
recalled the Turkish ambassador after the Chamber of Deputies in Paris
passed a Bill on Thursday making it a criminal offence to question the
"genocide" of the Armenians in 1915.
Up to 1.5m Armenians were killed across Ottoman Turkey after the regime
accused them of being a fifth column in league with the country's
enemies during the First World War. Turkey has waged a diplomatic
campaign ever since to quash any suggestion that it was guilty of
"genocide".
The French bill needs the approval of the Upper House before it
becomes law. Nonetheless, Mr Erdogan denounced the vote as a "clear
example of how racism, discrimination and anti-Muslim sentiment have
reached new heights in France and in Europe".
He noted that President Nicolas Sarkozy faces re-election in April,
adding: "Sarkozy's ambition is to win an election based on promoting
animosity against Turks and Muslims."
Mr Erdogan turned to France's colonial record in Algeria, where an
eight-year war was waged for independence between 1954 and 1962. "What
the French did in Algeria was genocide," said the prime minister,
alleging that French forces had "mercilessly martyred" about 15 per
cent of the entire Algerian population.
Mr Sarkozy opposes Turkey's application to join the European Union
and relations between the two countries have been tense since he won
office in 2007. Turkey blames France for obstructing the negotiations
on membership that have been proceeding at a snail's pace since 2005.
Mr Sarkozy offered a relatively conciliatory response to Turkey's
accusation, saying: "France doesn't give lessons to anyone, but
France also doesn't plan on taking them." The president added:
"I respect the convictions of our Turkish friends - it's a grand
country, a grand civilisation - and they must respect ours."
From: A. Papazian
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/turkey/8975884/Turkey-accuses-France-of-Algerian-genocide-as-row-escalates.html
23 Dec 2011
Turkey's prime minister yesterday accused France of conducting a
"merciless" genocide in Algeria as he responded furiously to a vote
in the French parliament concerning the mass killing of Armenians by
the Ottoman Empire.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks in Istanbul Photo:
AFP/GETTYBy David Blair
Recep Tayyip Erdogan froze all diplomatic contact with France and
recalled the Turkish ambassador after the Chamber of Deputies in Paris
passed a Bill on Thursday making it a criminal offence to question the
"genocide" of the Armenians in 1915.
Up to 1.5m Armenians were killed across Ottoman Turkey after the regime
accused them of being a fifth column in league with the country's
enemies during the First World War. Turkey has waged a diplomatic
campaign ever since to quash any suggestion that it was guilty of
"genocide".
The French bill needs the approval of the Upper House before it
becomes law. Nonetheless, Mr Erdogan denounced the vote as a "clear
example of how racism, discrimination and anti-Muslim sentiment have
reached new heights in France and in Europe".
He noted that President Nicolas Sarkozy faces re-election in April,
adding: "Sarkozy's ambition is to win an election based on promoting
animosity against Turks and Muslims."
Mr Erdogan turned to France's colonial record in Algeria, where an
eight-year war was waged for independence between 1954 and 1962. "What
the French did in Algeria was genocide," said the prime minister,
alleging that French forces had "mercilessly martyred" about 15 per
cent of the entire Algerian population.
Mr Sarkozy opposes Turkey's application to join the European Union
and relations between the two countries have been tense since he won
office in 2007. Turkey blames France for obstructing the negotiations
on membership that have been proceeding at a snail's pace since 2005.
Mr Sarkozy offered a relatively conciliatory response to Turkey's
accusation, saying: "France doesn't give lessons to anyone, but
France also doesn't plan on taking them." The president added:
"I respect the convictions of our Turkish friends - it's a grand
country, a grand civilisation - and they must respect ours."
From: A. Papazian