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TURKEY'S ERDOGAN: FRENCH VOTE REVEALS GRAVITY OF HOSTILITY TOWARDS MUSLIMS
Today's Zaman
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-266503-turkeys-erdogan-french-vote-reveals-gravity-of-hostility-towards-muslims.html
Dec 23 2011
Turkey
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said Thursday's French
vote on a bill that criminalizes the denial of the 1915 mass killing
of Armenians by Ottoman Turks as genocide has clearly revealed the
gravity of hostility against Muslims in France and Europe.
"The vote in France, where there are nearly 5 million Muslims, clearly
showed that the extent of racism, discrimination and anti-Muslims
sentiments has reached dangerous levels," Erdogan said on Friday
at a conference on "Change in Muslim Societies and Role of Women"
in İstanbul.
Accusing French President Nicolas Sarkozy of "trying to win [April's
presidential] elections over hostility towards Turks and Muslims,"
Erdogan said Thursday's vote is meaningful in that the bill was
approved with only 55 lawmakers in attendance, out of 577 in total.
"Mr. Sarkozy cannot find genocide in the history of Turkey. Once he
looks into Turkish history, he cannot find anything other than Turks'
tolerance, help and compassion," Erdogan said.
The Turkish prime minister also read excerpts from a 1526 letter sent
by Ottoman Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent to French King Francis I
in response to the French king's request for help after being captured
by the Spanish King Charles V during the Battle of Pavia. The Ottoman
sultan said in the letter he would help the French king.
Erdogan said he had earlier presented a copy of Suleyman's letter to
Sarkozy. "I think he did not read it."
Erdogan also accused Paris of committing "genocide" in Algeria,
a former colony. "France massacred an estimated 15 percent of the
Algerian population starting from 1945. This is genocide," he said.
"They were mercilessly martyred," he said, adding that Algerians were
burned in ovens.
Erdogan also said President Sarkozy's father might have direct
knowledge about the French "massacres" in Algeria.
"If the French president, Mr. Sarkozy, doesn't know about this genocide
he should go and ask his father, Paul Sarkozy."
"His father served in the French Legion in Algeria in the 1940s. I
am sure he would have lots to tell his son about the French massacres
in Algeria," the Turkish premier said.
French legislators passed a bill making it a crime to deny that the
mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks nearly a century ago
constituted genocide despite Turkish opposition.
The bill drew strong criticism from Turkey, which denies the genocide
label and insists the 1915 massacres occurred during civil unrest as
the Ottoman Empire collapsed, with losses on both sides.
The French bill still needs Senate approval.
Opposition supports sanctions against France Meanwhile, Turkey's main
opposition party has also pledged full support to the government
in its campaign against France. Republican People's Party (CHP)
leader Kemal Kılıcdaroglu said on Friday that his party sees the
issue as a "national problem" and will act in cooperation with the
government on this matter. "France should get rid of this shame,"
he said referring to the bill.
He said he voiced his support on measures against France during a
visit he paid to Erdogan on Wednesday.
Today's Zaman
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-266503-turkeys-erdogan-french-vote-reveals-gravity-of-hostility-towards-muslims.html
Dec 23 2011
Turkey
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said Thursday's French
vote on a bill that criminalizes the denial of the 1915 mass killing
of Armenians by Ottoman Turks as genocide has clearly revealed the
gravity of hostility against Muslims in France and Europe.
"The vote in France, where there are nearly 5 million Muslims, clearly
showed that the extent of racism, discrimination and anti-Muslims
sentiments has reached dangerous levels," Erdogan said on Friday
at a conference on "Change in Muslim Societies and Role of Women"
in İstanbul.
Accusing French President Nicolas Sarkozy of "trying to win [April's
presidential] elections over hostility towards Turks and Muslims,"
Erdogan said Thursday's vote is meaningful in that the bill was
approved with only 55 lawmakers in attendance, out of 577 in total.
"Mr. Sarkozy cannot find genocide in the history of Turkey. Once he
looks into Turkish history, he cannot find anything other than Turks'
tolerance, help and compassion," Erdogan said.
The Turkish prime minister also read excerpts from a 1526 letter sent
by Ottoman Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent to French King Francis I
in response to the French king's request for help after being captured
by the Spanish King Charles V during the Battle of Pavia. The Ottoman
sultan said in the letter he would help the French king.
Erdogan said he had earlier presented a copy of Suleyman's letter to
Sarkozy. "I think he did not read it."
Erdogan also accused Paris of committing "genocide" in Algeria,
a former colony. "France massacred an estimated 15 percent of the
Algerian population starting from 1945. This is genocide," he said.
"They were mercilessly martyred," he said, adding that Algerians were
burned in ovens.
Erdogan also said President Sarkozy's father might have direct
knowledge about the French "massacres" in Algeria.
"If the French president, Mr. Sarkozy, doesn't know about this genocide
he should go and ask his father, Paul Sarkozy."
"His father served in the French Legion in Algeria in the 1940s. I
am sure he would have lots to tell his son about the French massacres
in Algeria," the Turkish premier said.
French legislators passed a bill making it a crime to deny that the
mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks nearly a century ago
constituted genocide despite Turkish opposition.
The bill drew strong criticism from Turkey, which denies the genocide
label and insists the 1915 massacres occurred during civil unrest as
the Ottoman Empire collapsed, with losses on both sides.
The French bill still needs Senate approval.
Opposition supports sanctions against France Meanwhile, Turkey's main
opposition party has also pledged full support to the government
in its campaign against France. Republican People's Party (CHP)
leader Kemal Kılıcdaroglu said on Friday that his party sees the
issue as a "national problem" and will act in cooperation with the
government on this matter. "France should get rid of this shame,"
he said referring to the bill.
He said he voiced his support on measures against France during a
visit he paid to Erdogan on Wednesday.