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TURKEY WARNS FRANCE OF MORE ACTION OVER GENOCIDE BILL
Trend
Dec 29 2011
Azerbaijan
29 December 2011, 09:36 (GMT+04:00) Turkey on Wednesday warned France
it would take further action against Paris should the French senate
pass a bill making it a crime to deny the 1915 mass killings of
Armenians in Ottoman Turkey constituted genocide Today`s Zaman reported
Ankara reacted furiously when the lower house of the French parliament
last week approved the bill, recalling its ambassador from Paris,
banning French military aircraft and warships from landing and docking
in Turkey and freezing political and economic meetings.
Prime Minister Tayyip Recep Erdogan slammed the bill as "politics
based on racism, discrimination and xenophobia" and turned his anger
on French President Nicolas Sarkozy, accusing France of colonial
massacres in Algeria.
In a statement, the National Security Council (MGK), the top state
body for security matters, said it hoped "common sense" would prevail
in France and that Paris would give up on its "mistake".
France is Turkey's fifth biggest export market and the sixth biggest
source of its imports, with bilateral trade worth $14 billion in the
first 10 months of 2011.
The National Security Council comprises Turkey's top generals, Erdogan,
members of the cabinet and President Abdullah Gul.
"About this subject, measures announced by the government and further
additional measures would be announced depending on France's steps,"
the National Security Council said at the end of a five-hour meeting.
"If the proposal passes into law, there will be an objection in every
way against this unfair measure."
The French bill, which will be debated in the Senate next year,
has caused outrage in Turkey, which argues killings took place on
all sides during a fierce partisan conflict.
Erdogan, whose personal animosity towards Sarkozy is well-known for the
Frenchman's opposition to Turkish membership of the European Union,
has suggested Sarkozy was angling for ethnic Armenian votes in next
year's presidential election.
Buoyed by its fast-growing economy while Europe battles a financial
crisis and angered at its stagnant bid to join the EU, Ankara feels
it has little to lose in a political fight with Paris.
Turkey's Economy Minister Zafer Chaglayan has said French investments
in Turkey are safe but has suggested that "consumers might take
matters into their own hands"
Trend
Dec 29 2011
Azerbaijan
29 December 2011, 09:36 (GMT+04:00) Turkey on Wednesday warned France
it would take further action against Paris should the French senate
pass a bill making it a crime to deny the 1915 mass killings of
Armenians in Ottoman Turkey constituted genocide Today`s Zaman reported
Ankara reacted furiously when the lower house of the French parliament
last week approved the bill, recalling its ambassador from Paris,
banning French military aircraft and warships from landing and docking
in Turkey and freezing political and economic meetings.
Prime Minister Tayyip Recep Erdogan slammed the bill as "politics
based on racism, discrimination and xenophobia" and turned his anger
on French President Nicolas Sarkozy, accusing France of colonial
massacres in Algeria.
In a statement, the National Security Council (MGK), the top state
body for security matters, said it hoped "common sense" would prevail
in France and that Paris would give up on its "mistake".
France is Turkey's fifth biggest export market and the sixth biggest
source of its imports, with bilateral trade worth $14 billion in the
first 10 months of 2011.
The National Security Council comprises Turkey's top generals, Erdogan,
members of the cabinet and President Abdullah Gul.
"About this subject, measures announced by the government and further
additional measures would be announced depending on France's steps,"
the National Security Council said at the end of a five-hour meeting.
"If the proposal passes into law, there will be an objection in every
way against this unfair measure."
The French bill, which will be debated in the Senate next year,
has caused outrage in Turkey, which argues killings took place on
all sides during a fierce partisan conflict.
Erdogan, whose personal animosity towards Sarkozy is well-known for the
Frenchman's opposition to Turkish membership of the European Union,
has suggested Sarkozy was angling for ethnic Armenian votes in next
year's presidential election.
Buoyed by its fast-growing economy while Europe battles a financial
crisis and angered at its stagnant bid to join the EU, Ankara feels
it has little to lose in a political fight with Paris.
Turkey's Economy Minister Zafer Chaglayan has said French investments
in Turkey are safe but has suggested that "consumers might take
matters into their own hands"