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Windsor Star (Ontario)
December 23, 2011 Friday
Final Edition
Turks cut French ties over genocide bill; Sensitivity over Armenian massacre
PARIS/ANKARA
France sparked a diplomatic row with Turkey on Thursday by taking
steps to criminalize the denial of genocide, including the 1915 mass
killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks, prompting Ankara to cancel all
economic, political and military meetings.
Lawmakers in France's National Assembly - the lower house of
parliament - voted overwhelmingly in favour of a draft law outlawing
genocide denial, which will be debated next year in the Senate.
French Foreign Affairs Minister Alain Juppe, speaking to journalists
after the vote, urged Turkey not to overreact to the assembly
decision, called for "good sense and moderation."
But Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan angrily criticized France
for passing the draft legislation, which touches on a highly
controversial period in his country's history.
The bill, put forward by members of French President Nicolas Sarkozy's
ruling party, was "politics based on racism, discrimination,
xenophobia," Erdogan told journalists.
He said Sarkozy was sacrificing good ties "for the sake of political
calculations," suggesting the president was trying to win the votes of
ethnic Armenians in France in an election next year.
Erdogan said Turkey was cancelling all economic, political and
military meetings with its NATO partner and said it would cancel
permission for French military planes to land, and warships to dock,
in Turkey.
Juppe said Turkey had also recalled its ambassador from France, a
decision he regretted.
"What I hope now is that our Turkish friends do not overreact about
the French National Assembly decision. We have lots of things to work
on together," Juppe said.
Armenia, backed by many historians and parliaments, says about 1.5
million Christian Armenians were killed in what is now eastern Turkey
during First World War in a deliberate policy of genocide ordered by
the Ottoman government.
Successive Turkish governments and the vast majority of Turks feel the
charge of genocide is an insult to their nation. Ankara argues that
there was heavy loss of life on both sides during fighting in the
area.
"I don't understand why France wants to censor my freedom of
expression," Yildiz Hamza, president of the Montargis association that
represents 700 Turkish families in France, told Reuters.
Earlier, about 3,000 French nationals of Turkish origin demonstrated
peacefully outside the parliament ahead of the vote, which came 32
years to the day since a Turkish diplomat was assassinated by Armenian
militants in central Paris.
The authorities in Yerevan welcomed the vote. "By adopting this bill
(France) reconfirmed that crimes against humanity do not have a period
of prescription and their denial must be absolutely condemned,"
Armenia's Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian saying in a statement.
France passed a law recognizing the killing of Armenians as genocide
in 2001. The French lower house first passed a bill criminalizing the
denial of an Armenian genocide in 2006, but it was rejected by the
Senate in May this year.
The latest draft law was made more general to outlaw the denial of any
genocide, partly in the hope of appeasing Turkey.
It could still face a long passage into law, though its backers want
to see it completed before parliament is suspended at the end of
February ahead of elections in the second quarter.
National Assembly speaker Bernard Accoyer said on Wednesday that he
doubted the bill would pass by the end of the current parliament, as
the government had not made the bill priority legislation.
The French government has stressed that it did not initiate the bill,
which mandates a 45,000-euro fine and a year in jail for offenders,
and says Turkey cannot impose unilateral trade sanctions.
Faced with Sarkozy's open hostility to Turkey's stagnant bid to join
the European Union, and buoyed by a fast-growing economy, Ankara has
little to lose by picking a political fight with Paris.
With Turkey taking an increasingly influential role in the Arab world
and Middle East, especially Syria, Iran and Libya, France could
experience some diplomatic discomfort, and French firms could lose out
on lucrative Turkish contracts.
France is Turkey's fifthbiggest export market and the sixth-biggest
source of its imports. About 360 French companies operate in Turkey,
employing more than 80,000 people, according to export consultancy
UbiFrance.
"Turkey is a democracy and has joined the World Trade Organization so
it can't just discriminate for political reasons against countries,"
Europe Minister Jean Leonetti told France Inter radio. "I think these
threats are just hot air and we (have) to begin a much more reasoned
dialogue."
The French bill feeds a sense shared by many Turks that they are
unwanted by Europe and it fires up nationalist fervour. However, in a
more self-confident Turkey, popular reaction has been more muted than
in the past.
France has been pushing Turkey to own up to its history, just as
France belatedly recognized the role of its collaborationist Vichy
government during the Second World War in deporting Jews to Nazi
concentration camps.
From: A. Papazian
December 23, 2011 Friday
Final Edition
Turks cut French ties over genocide bill; Sensitivity over Armenian massacre
PARIS/ANKARA
France sparked a diplomatic row with Turkey on Thursday by taking
steps to criminalize the denial of genocide, including the 1915 mass
killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks, prompting Ankara to cancel all
economic, political and military meetings.
Lawmakers in France's National Assembly - the lower house of
parliament - voted overwhelmingly in favour of a draft law outlawing
genocide denial, which will be debated next year in the Senate.
French Foreign Affairs Minister Alain Juppe, speaking to journalists
after the vote, urged Turkey not to overreact to the assembly
decision, called for "good sense and moderation."
But Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan angrily criticized France
for passing the draft legislation, which touches on a highly
controversial period in his country's history.
The bill, put forward by members of French President Nicolas Sarkozy's
ruling party, was "politics based on racism, discrimination,
xenophobia," Erdogan told journalists.
He said Sarkozy was sacrificing good ties "for the sake of political
calculations," suggesting the president was trying to win the votes of
ethnic Armenians in France in an election next year.
Erdogan said Turkey was cancelling all economic, political and
military meetings with its NATO partner and said it would cancel
permission for French military planes to land, and warships to dock,
in Turkey.
Juppe said Turkey had also recalled its ambassador from France, a
decision he regretted.
"What I hope now is that our Turkish friends do not overreact about
the French National Assembly decision. We have lots of things to work
on together," Juppe said.
Armenia, backed by many historians and parliaments, says about 1.5
million Christian Armenians were killed in what is now eastern Turkey
during First World War in a deliberate policy of genocide ordered by
the Ottoman government.
Successive Turkish governments and the vast majority of Turks feel the
charge of genocide is an insult to their nation. Ankara argues that
there was heavy loss of life on both sides during fighting in the
area.
"I don't understand why France wants to censor my freedom of
expression," Yildiz Hamza, president of the Montargis association that
represents 700 Turkish families in France, told Reuters.
Earlier, about 3,000 French nationals of Turkish origin demonstrated
peacefully outside the parliament ahead of the vote, which came 32
years to the day since a Turkish diplomat was assassinated by Armenian
militants in central Paris.
The authorities in Yerevan welcomed the vote. "By adopting this bill
(France) reconfirmed that crimes against humanity do not have a period
of prescription and their denial must be absolutely condemned,"
Armenia's Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian saying in a statement.
France passed a law recognizing the killing of Armenians as genocide
in 2001. The French lower house first passed a bill criminalizing the
denial of an Armenian genocide in 2006, but it was rejected by the
Senate in May this year.
The latest draft law was made more general to outlaw the denial of any
genocide, partly in the hope of appeasing Turkey.
It could still face a long passage into law, though its backers want
to see it completed before parliament is suspended at the end of
February ahead of elections in the second quarter.
National Assembly speaker Bernard Accoyer said on Wednesday that he
doubted the bill would pass by the end of the current parliament, as
the government had not made the bill priority legislation.
The French government has stressed that it did not initiate the bill,
which mandates a 45,000-euro fine and a year in jail for offenders,
and says Turkey cannot impose unilateral trade sanctions.
Faced with Sarkozy's open hostility to Turkey's stagnant bid to join
the European Union, and buoyed by a fast-growing economy, Ankara has
little to lose by picking a political fight with Paris.
With Turkey taking an increasingly influential role in the Arab world
and Middle East, especially Syria, Iran and Libya, France could
experience some diplomatic discomfort, and French firms could lose out
on lucrative Turkish contracts.
France is Turkey's fifthbiggest export market and the sixth-biggest
source of its imports. About 360 French companies operate in Turkey,
employing more than 80,000 people, according to export consultancy
UbiFrance.
"Turkey is a democracy and has joined the World Trade Organization so
it can't just discriminate for political reasons against countries,"
Europe Minister Jean Leonetti told France Inter radio. "I think these
threats are just hot air and we (have) to begin a much more reasoned
dialogue."
The French bill feeds a sense shared by many Turks that they are
unwanted by Europe and it fires up nationalist fervour. However, in a
more self-confident Turkey, popular reaction has been more muted than
in the past.
France has been pushing Turkey to own up to its history, just as
France belatedly recognized the role of its collaborationist Vichy
government during the Second World War in deporting Jews to Nazi
concentration camps.
From: A. Papazian