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Today's Zaman, Turkey
Oct 7 2011
Turkey calls on Sarkozy to look in the mirror on history controversy
07 October 2011, Friday / TODAY'S ZAMAN, ANKARA
Amidst of the row between the two countries, French Interior Minister
Claude Gueant met with Interior Minister Ä°dris Naim Sahin to sign an
agreement on cooperation in domestic security.
In harsh response to recent remarks by French President Nicolas
Sarkozy, who called on Turkey to face its history and recognize the
1915 massacre of Armenians as genocide, Turkey said on Friday that
France should look in the mirror before asking Turkey to revisit its
history.
Foreign Minister Ahmet DavutoÄ?lu told reporters after his meeting with
Turkey's pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) on the country's
foreign policy that he finds Sarkozy's remarks as an example of
`political populism.' He said his statements were wrong and were aimed
for [France's] domestic politics. ¦ Any state or society who has a
colonial past and cannot face its own history does not have the right
to give lessons to Turkey. Those who want Turkey face its history
should look into mirror,' the minister said. Sarkozy on Thursday urged
Turkey to recognize the 1915 incidents as genocide, threatening to
pass a law in France that would make denying this a crime.
`The Armenian genocide is a historical reality. Collective denial is
even worse than individual denial,' Sarkozy told reporters.
`Turkey, which is a great country, would honor itself to revisit its
history like other great countries in the world have done,' the French
president added. On Friday, Sarkozy made further comments on the
issue, calling Turkey to `make a gesture of reconciliation,' and
warning that if Turkey refrained from taking any steps, France would
consider amending its legislation to penalize denial, Reuters
reported. Sarkozy did not give a date for such a move, but noted that
measures could be adopted `in a very brief time.'
Turkey's Minister for European Union Affairs Egemen BaÄ?ıÅ? was also
highly critical of Sarkozy's remarks and called on the French
president to `think over how he would save his country from the
economic turmoil it has fallen into instead of assuming the role of
historians.'
BaÄ?ıÅ? told reporters in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where he has been for
an official visit, that his remarks show that Sarkozy is concerned
about recent polls in his country, which show less support for him in
the upcoming presidential elections. `This can only be called the
exploitation of the upcoming elections. We can make no other comment,'
he said.
Amidst the row between countries over claims of genocide, Turkish
Interior Minister Ä°dris Naim Å?ahin on Friday signed an agreement on
cooperation in domestic security with his French counterpart Claude
Gueant, who notified journalists after the signing that he was in
Ankara upon an appointment by Sarkozy, as he placed great importance
on security cooperation between Turkey and France.
Gueant did not comment on whether Sarkozy's words represented the
official French perspective on the issue, or if they were comments on
a personal level motivated by the upcoming elections. France has been
assisting Turkey in its fight against Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)
terrorism by staging operations to bust sympathizers and party members
in France. Gueant also noted that Sarkozy had set no dates for a law
that criminalizes denouncing the so-called `Armenian genocide' that he
threatened to pass, the Anatolia news agency reported.
The issue of the World War I-era killings of Armenians by Ottoman
Turks is a sensitive one for Turkey. Armenian groups say up to 1.5
million Armenians were killed during World War I in a systematic
genocide campaign perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire. Turkey
categorically rejects the charges, saying the death toll is inflated
and that Turks were also killed as Armenians revolted against the
Ottoman Empire in collaboration with Russian forces for an independent
state in eastern Anatolia.
France has long been urging Turkey to acknowledge that the Armenian
allegations are true. Turkey, in turn, has proposed that a committee
of historians, not politicians, should decide what transpired in 1915.
The French Parliament recognized the so-called `Armenian genocide' in
2001, which resulted in short-lived tension between France and Turkey.
In 2006 the French National Assembly adopted a bill proposing
punishment for anyone who denies the `Armenian genocide.' The bill was
dropped this summer before coming to the Senate.
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-259138-turkey-calls-on-sarkozy-to-look-in-the-mirror-on-history-controversy.html
From: A. Papazian
Oct 7 2011
Turkey calls on Sarkozy to look in the mirror on history controversy
07 October 2011, Friday / TODAY'S ZAMAN, ANKARA
Amidst of the row between the two countries, French Interior Minister
Claude Gueant met with Interior Minister Ä°dris Naim Sahin to sign an
agreement on cooperation in domestic security.
In harsh response to recent remarks by French President Nicolas
Sarkozy, who called on Turkey to face its history and recognize the
1915 massacre of Armenians as genocide, Turkey said on Friday that
France should look in the mirror before asking Turkey to revisit its
history.
Foreign Minister Ahmet DavutoÄ?lu told reporters after his meeting with
Turkey's pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) on the country's
foreign policy that he finds Sarkozy's remarks as an example of
`political populism.' He said his statements were wrong and were aimed
for [France's] domestic politics. ¦ Any state or society who has a
colonial past and cannot face its own history does not have the right
to give lessons to Turkey. Those who want Turkey face its history
should look into mirror,' the minister said. Sarkozy on Thursday urged
Turkey to recognize the 1915 incidents as genocide, threatening to
pass a law in France that would make denying this a crime.
`The Armenian genocide is a historical reality. Collective denial is
even worse than individual denial,' Sarkozy told reporters.
`Turkey, which is a great country, would honor itself to revisit its
history like other great countries in the world have done,' the French
president added. On Friday, Sarkozy made further comments on the
issue, calling Turkey to `make a gesture of reconciliation,' and
warning that if Turkey refrained from taking any steps, France would
consider amending its legislation to penalize denial, Reuters
reported. Sarkozy did not give a date for such a move, but noted that
measures could be adopted `in a very brief time.'
Turkey's Minister for European Union Affairs Egemen BaÄ?ıÅ? was also
highly critical of Sarkozy's remarks and called on the French
president to `think over how he would save his country from the
economic turmoil it has fallen into instead of assuming the role of
historians.'
BaÄ?ıÅ? told reporters in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where he has been for
an official visit, that his remarks show that Sarkozy is concerned
about recent polls in his country, which show less support for him in
the upcoming presidential elections. `This can only be called the
exploitation of the upcoming elections. We can make no other comment,'
he said.
Amidst the row between countries over claims of genocide, Turkish
Interior Minister Ä°dris Naim Å?ahin on Friday signed an agreement on
cooperation in domestic security with his French counterpart Claude
Gueant, who notified journalists after the signing that he was in
Ankara upon an appointment by Sarkozy, as he placed great importance
on security cooperation between Turkey and France.
Gueant did not comment on whether Sarkozy's words represented the
official French perspective on the issue, or if they were comments on
a personal level motivated by the upcoming elections. France has been
assisting Turkey in its fight against Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)
terrorism by staging operations to bust sympathizers and party members
in France. Gueant also noted that Sarkozy had set no dates for a law
that criminalizes denouncing the so-called `Armenian genocide' that he
threatened to pass, the Anatolia news agency reported.
The issue of the World War I-era killings of Armenians by Ottoman
Turks is a sensitive one for Turkey. Armenian groups say up to 1.5
million Armenians were killed during World War I in a systematic
genocide campaign perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire. Turkey
categorically rejects the charges, saying the death toll is inflated
and that Turks were also killed as Armenians revolted against the
Ottoman Empire in collaboration with Russian forces for an independent
state in eastern Anatolia.
France has long been urging Turkey to acknowledge that the Armenian
allegations are true. Turkey, in turn, has proposed that a committee
of historians, not politicians, should decide what transpired in 1915.
The French Parliament recognized the so-called `Armenian genocide' in
2001, which resulted in short-lived tension between France and Turkey.
In 2006 the French National Assembly adopted a bill proposing
punishment for anyone who denies the `Armenian genocide.' The bill was
dropped this summer before coming to the Senate.
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-259138-turkey-calls-on-sarkozy-to-look-in-the-mirror-on-history-controversy.html
From: A. Papazian