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FRENCH GAME OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
PRAVDA
Dec 26 2011
Russia
Last week, The French National Assembly approved the law introducing
criminal penalties for denial of the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman
Empire in 1915. Now this wrongful act is punishable by a year in
jail and a fine of 45 thousand euros. Turkey has prepared its harsh
response.
The author of the bill is a member of the ruling party "Union for a
Popular Movement," Valerie Boyer, but the opposition Socialists voted
"yes" on the issue. Now the bill is in the hands of the Senate. It is
assumed that the upper house of Parliament will pass the document in
the next six months (in the summer of 2012 the powers of the Senate
will expire), and President Nicolas Sarkozy will sign it.
The fact that in 1915 the Ottoman authorities conducted the Armenian
genocide and murdered 1.5 million people (the number most frequently
cited in historical studies) was recognized by France in early 2001.
Five years later, opposition Socialist Party has promised to pass
a law on genocide denial, but then it failed. At the same time the
right-wing President Nicolas Sarkozy in 2007 promised to adopt the
document. By the end of his term he kept his word.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan attempted to prevent a
positive vote in France. He sent a letter to Paris, threatening to
withdraw the Turkish ambassador from France and expel the French one
from Ankara. In case of the adoption of the document the French will
lose access to such sectors of Turkish economy as transport and arms.
Political and cultural contacts will be phased out at the same time.
Turkey's President Abdullah Gul spoke in the same spirit. "This is
a careless distortion of history for political purposes. It seems
impossible for us to adopt the bill that is currently on the agenda
of the French National Assembly that aims to ban the freedom of denial
of unfair and unfounded accusations against our country and nation. I
hope that France will not make this step, which is an affront to
freedom of expression," he said.
On the voting day, over four thousand Turks gathered in the heart of
Paris. However, shouting in the streets as well as letters by Gul
and Erdogan had no effect on the deputies. The author of the bill,
Valerie Boyer, accuses the Turks of "serious interference in the
internal affairs of France."
Minister for Relations with Parliament Patrick Olier tried to smooth
the situation. "This text is not directed against anyone, it is
intended to complement our criminal law. But we cannot ignore the
reaction of our Turkish friends. The French government is convinced
that the common strategic interests and cooperation for peace and
freedom in Syria and Afghanistan, working together in NATO and the
G20, economic and cultural cooperation is strong enough to overcome
the trials that can survive the relationship, " he said.
This time Ankara did not hear his words. The Turkish Ambassador in
Paris Tahsin Burdzhuoglu said that he was returning to his homeland.
Turkish media wrote that France would lose projects worth 40-50
billion dollars. Following this decision, Erdogan called the French
"an example of racism, discrimination and xenophobia." Turkey stopped
the cooperation with France under the NATO framework. Now, the French
military planes and ships will not be able to use Turkish airfields and
ports. Economic and political cooperation has been minimized as well.
On his part, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian expressed
satisfaction with the decision of the French deputies. "France has
reaffirmed its reputation of a cradle of human rights and once again
proved the commitment to universal values. 10 years ago, recognizing
the Armenian genocide, the French people have demonstrated that human
rights are their highest value. They reiterated that crimes against
humanity do not have statute of limitations, and that their denial
should be unequivocally condemned," he said.
The events of nearly a century ago that happened during the First
World War are still on the minds of not only historians but also
politicians. The evidence of genocide is the photos of those years,
reports of foreign diplomats and missionaries, and telegrams of Turkish
statesmen. However, the information the Turkish archives is still
unavailable, and there is still no complete picture of the tragic
events of 1915. The main question is how many Armenians were killed,
and whether the events should be considered a deliberate extermination
on ethnic grounds or "just" a mass murder.
The Armenian side insists on the deliberate genocide of half a million
people (sometimes the figure of two million is cited, sometimes
one million). Historians of various countries talk about 600 to 800
thousand. In any case this is a very large number. One can also add
that in those years, hundreds of thousands of Armenians fled from the
Ottoman Empire and many Armenian churches have been destroyed. Cases
of repression against the Armenians that the Turkish authorities
often considered disloyal were ongoing before and after 1915.
The Turks say that no more than 200 thousand have died, and then
largely because of hunger, disease and epidemics. The reason is clear:
if the genocide is recognized, the descendants of the victims will
have grounds to claim billions of dollars in damages. Therefore,
the modern Turkish Republic is trying to stop even the talk of the
genocide. Any attempts to recognize the genocide outside of the
country cause extremely painful reaction.
At present, the Armenian Genocide is recognized (among others)
by Russia, France, Greece, Poland, Canada, 42 U.S. states and some
regions of the UK, Spain and Australia. The EU does not impose the
recognition of genocide as a condition of accepting Turkey into its
ranks, but this is one of the reasons why Greece, Cyprus and France are
blocking the entry. At the same time, Germany is unlikely to recognize
the genocide in the near future. The country has approximately three
million Turks, and the German authorities are unlikely to make them
angry. However, the fact of the massacre (not genocide) was recognized
by the Bundestag in 2005.
The answer to the question why France is at the forefront of the
process of recognition of Armenian genocide lies in the fact that the
local Armenian community is numerous and influential. It is believed
that today nearly half a million Armenians reside in the country,
and if we count those partially Armenian, the number will amount to
over a million.
As for French politicians of Armenian origin, two names can be
highlighted. The first one is the former Prime Minister Edouard
Balladur of France, who was born in Turkey. The second is a close
ally of Nicolas Sarkozy, Patrick Devedjian, now occupies the post of
general secretary of the ruling party "Union for a Popular Movement."
He is considered the main lobbyist of this document. Ultimately,
he was heard by the deputies of the ruling party. But the Socialists
also have their Armenians.
The decision on punishment for the Armenian Genocide had an internal
policy component. Perhaps, Sarkozy and his supporters were driven by
compassion for the victims of the events that took place 96 years ago.
France is facing presidential election, and Sarkozy's rating is
very low. It was very important for him to enlist the support of the
Armenian community. He could clearly use extra half a million votes.
This factor outweighed even the possible economic and political losses
from reducing the level of relations with Turkey. Paris may have not
thought about long term consequences.
Vadim Trukhachev
http://english.pravda.ru/world/europe/26-12-2011/120080-armenian_genocide-0/
PRAVDA
Dec 26 2011
Russia
Last week, The French National Assembly approved the law introducing
criminal penalties for denial of the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman
Empire in 1915. Now this wrongful act is punishable by a year in
jail and a fine of 45 thousand euros. Turkey has prepared its harsh
response.
The author of the bill is a member of the ruling party "Union for a
Popular Movement," Valerie Boyer, but the opposition Socialists voted
"yes" on the issue. Now the bill is in the hands of the Senate. It is
assumed that the upper house of Parliament will pass the document in
the next six months (in the summer of 2012 the powers of the Senate
will expire), and President Nicolas Sarkozy will sign it.
The fact that in 1915 the Ottoman authorities conducted the Armenian
genocide and murdered 1.5 million people (the number most frequently
cited in historical studies) was recognized by France in early 2001.
Five years later, opposition Socialist Party has promised to pass
a law on genocide denial, but then it failed. At the same time the
right-wing President Nicolas Sarkozy in 2007 promised to adopt the
document. By the end of his term he kept his word.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan attempted to prevent a
positive vote in France. He sent a letter to Paris, threatening to
withdraw the Turkish ambassador from France and expel the French one
from Ankara. In case of the adoption of the document the French will
lose access to such sectors of Turkish economy as transport and arms.
Political and cultural contacts will be phased out at the same time.
Turkey's President Abdullah Gul spoke in the same spirit. "This is
a careless distortion of history for political purposes. It seems
impossible for us to adopt the bill that is currently on the agenda
of the French National Assembly that aims to ban the freedom of denial
of unfair and unfounded accusations against our country and nation. I
hope that France will not make this step, which is an affront to
freedom of expression," he said.
On the voting day, over four thousand Turks gathered in the heart of
Paris. However, shouting in the streets as well as letters by Gul
and Erdogan had no effect on the deputies. The author of the bill,
Valerie Boyer, accuses the Turks of "serious interference in the
internal affairs of France."
Minister for Relations with Parliament Patrick Olier tried to smooth
the situation. "This text is not directed against anyone, it is
intended to complement our criminal law. But we cannot ignore the
reaction of our Turkish friends. The French government is convinced
that the common strategic interests and cooperation for peace and
freedom in Syria and Afghanistan, working together in NATO and the
G20, economic and cultural cooperation is strong enough to overcome
the trials that can survive the relationship, " he said.
This time Ankara did not hear his words. The Turkish Ambassador in
Paris Tahsin Burdzhuoglu said that he was returning to his homeland.
Turkish media wrote that France would lose projects worth 40-50
billion dollars. Following this decision, Erdogan called the French
"an example of racism, discrimination and xenophobia." Turkey stopped
the cooperation with France under the NATO framework. Now, the French
military planes and ships will not be able to use Turkish airfields and
ports. Economic and political cooperation has been minimized as well.
On his part, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian expressed
satisfaction with the decision of the French deputies. "France has
reaffirmed its reputation of a cradle of human rights and once again
proved the commitment to universal values. 10 years ago, recognizing
the Armenian genocide, the French people have demonstrated that human
rights are their highest value. They reiterated that crimes against
humanity do not have statute of limitations, and that their denial
should be unequivocally condemned," he said.
The events of nearly a century ago that happened during the First
World War are still on the minds of not only historians but also
politicians. The evidence of genocide is the photos of those years,
reports of foreign diplomats and missionaries, and telegrams of Turkish
statesmen. However, the information the Turkish archives is still
unavailable, and there is still no complete picture of the tragic
events of 1915. The main question is how many Armenians were killed,
and whether the events should be considered a deliberate extermination
on ethnic grounds or "just" a mass murder.
The Armenian side insists on the deliberate genocide of half a million
people (sometimes the figure of two million is cited, sometimes
one million). Historians of various countries talk about 600 to 800
thousand. In any case this is a very large number. One can also add
that in those years, hundreds of thousands of Armenians fled from the
Ottoman Empire and many Armenian churches have been destroyed. Cases
of repression against the Armenians that the Turkish authorities
often considered disloyal were ongoing before and after 1915.
The Turks say that no more than 200 thousand have died, and then
largely because of hunger, disease and epidemics. The reason is clear:
if the genocide is recognized, the descendants of the victims will
have grounds to claim billions of dollars in damages. Therefore,
the modern Turkish Republic is trying to stop even the talk of the
genocide. Any attempts to recognize the genocide outside of the
country cause extremely painful reaction.
At present, the Armenian Genocide is recognized (among others)
by Russia, France, Greece, Poland, Canada, 42 U.S. states and some
regions of the UK, Spain and Australia. The EU does not impose the
recognition of genocide as a condition of accepting Turkey into its
ranks, but this is one of the reasons why Greece, Cyprus and France are
blocking the entry. At the same time, Germany is unlikely to recognize
the genocide in the near future. The country has approximately three
million Turks, and the German authorities are unlikely to make them
angry. However, the fact of the massacre (not genocide) was recognized
by the Bundestag in 2005.
The answer to the question why France is at the forefront of the
process of recognition of Armenian genocide lies in the fact that the
local Armenian community is numerous and influential. It is believed
that today nearly half a million Armenians reside in the country,
and if we count those partially Armenian, the number will amount to
over a million.
As for French politicians of Armenian origin, two names can be
highlighted. The first one is the former Prime Minister Edouard
Balladur of France, who was born in Turkey. The second is a close
ally of Nicolas Sarkozy, Patrick Devedjian, now occupies the post of
general secretary of the ruling party "Union for a Popular Movement."
He is considered the main lobbyist of this document. Ultimately,
he was heard by the deputies of the ruling party. But the Socialists
also have their Armenians.
The decision on punishment for the Armenian Genocide had an internal
policy component. Perhaps, Sarkozy and his supporters were driven by
compassion for the victims of the events that took place 96 years ago.
France is facing presidential election, and Sarkozy's rating is
very low. It was very important for him to enlist the support of the
Armenian community. He could clearly use extra half a million votes.
This factor outweighed even the possible economic and political losses
from reducing the level of relations with Turkey. Paris may have not
thought about long term consequences.
Vadim Trukhachev
http://english.pravda.ru/world/europe/26-12-2011/120080-armenian_genocide-0/