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ARMENIA ROW HITS TURKISH-FRENCH RELATIONS
EurActiv.com
Oct 10 2011
Relations between Turkey and France could be headed for a new crisis
after French President Nicolas Sarkozy urged Ankara to recognise the
mass killings of Armenians by the Turkish army in 1915 as genocide,
the Turkish press reports.
On a visit to Armenia on 7 October, Sarkozy said he wanted Turkey to
recognise, before the end of his mandate in May 2012, that the mass
killings of hundreds of thousands of Armenians amounted to genocide,
as France did in 2001.
"It is not the role of France to set an ultimatum to whoever, it is
not the right way to do things [â~@¦] but for reflection, I thing
the time from 1915 to 2011 is sufficient," he said.
If Turkey does not recognise the genocide claims and step toward
reconciliation, the French president said he would consider proposing
the adoption of a law criminalising the denial of the killings as
genocide.
An earlier attempt by the French government was rejected by the French
Senate in 2009.
Turkish EU Minister Egemen BaÄ~_ıÅ~_ criticised Sarkozy, describing
him as "totally helpless" and adding that the French president would
do better extricating the euro zone from the economic crisis rather
than play historian on the Armenian question.
â~@~\It would be better... if Mr. Sarkozy abandons the role of
historian and looks for ways to solve the economic problems of the
European Union, of which his country is a member,â~@~] BaÄ~_ıÅ~_
said, calling Sarkozyâ~@~Ys recent remarks â~@~\attempts to abuse
the domestic politicsâ~@~] of France.
BaÄ~_ıÅ~_ suggested that Sarkozy was trying to use international
issues to rally support at home ahead of the Presidential elections
next year.
"Sarkozy must have been frightened with the results of recent political
surveys in France so that he is assuming such approaches," Bagis said,
apparently referring to polls which indicate that Socialist François
Hollande would win the presidential election if it was held today.
According to commentator Murat Yetkin writing for the daily Hürriyet
newspaper, Sarkozy's aim at Turkey could be explained by the assertive
role of Ankara in the Mediterranean, where he said France was losing
influence.
"This year marked the 100th year of Turkish withdrawal from Libya
and Algeria to leave the rule of the lands to Italy and France
respectively. Perhaps that was the reason why Sarkozy, having British
Prime Minister David Cameron as a companion, rushed to Benghazi a
day before Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ~_an visited the
Libyan city," Yetkin writes.
According to the journalist Sarkozy sees Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip
ErdoÄ~_an as an obstacle to France's comeback in the Maghreb following
the Arab Spring.
"Perhaps it was a subconscious reflex that pushed Sarkozy to the
Turkish and Russian backyard of the Caucasus to disturb Turkeyâ~@~Ys
balances there," he wrote.
http://www.euractiv.com/enlargement/armenia-row-hits-turkish-french-relations-news-508237
EurActiv.com
Oct 10 2011
Relations between Turkey and France could be headed for a new crisis
after French President Nicolas Sarkozy urged Ankara to recognise the
mass killings of Armenians by the Turkish army in 1915 as genocide,
the Turkish press reports.
On a visit to Armenia on 7 October, Sarkozy said he wanted Turkey to
recognise, before the end of his mandate in May 2012, that the mass
killings of hundreds of thousands of Armenians amounted to genocide,
as France did in 2001.
"It is not the role of France to set an ultimatum to whoever, it is
not the right way to do things [â~@¦] but for reflection, I thing
the time from 1915 to 2011 is sufficient," he said.
If Turkey does not recognise the genocide claims and step toward
reconciliation, the French president said he would consider proposing
the adoption of a law criminalising the denial of the killings as
genocide.
An earlier attempt by the French government was rejected by the French
Senate in 2009.
Turkish EU Minister Egemen BaÄ~_ıÅ~_ criticised Sarkozy, describing
him as "totally helpless" and adding that the French president would
do better extricating the euro zone from the economic crisis rather
than play historian on the Armenian question.
â~@~\It would be better... if Mr. Sarkozy abandons the role of
historian and looks for ways to solve the economic problems of the
European Union, of which his country is a member,â~@~] BaÄ~_ıÅ~_
said, calling Sarkozyâ~@~Ys recent remarks â~@~\attempts to abuse
the domestic politicsâ~@~] of France.
BaÄ~_ıÅ~_ suggested that Sarkozy was trying to use international
issues to rally support at home ahead of the Presidential elections
next year.
"Sarkozy must have been frightened with the results of recent political
surveys in France so that he is assuming such approaches," Bagis said,
apparently referring to polls which indicate that Socialist François
Hollande would win the presidential election if it was held today.
According to commentator Murat Yetkin writing for the daily Hürriyet
newspaper, Sarkozy's aim at Turkey could be explained by the assertive
role of Ankara in the Mediterranean, where he said France was losing
influence.
"This year marked the 100th year of Turkish withdrawal from Libya
and Algeria to leave the rule of the lands to Italy and France
respectively. Perhaps that was the reason why Sarkozy, having British
Prime Minister David Cameron as a companion, rushed to Benghazi a
day before Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ~_an visited the
Libyan city," Yetkin writes.
According to the journalist Sarkozy sees Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip
ErdoÄ~_an as an obstacle to France's comeback in the Maghreb following
the Arab Spring.
"Perhaps it was a subconscious reflex that pushed Sarkozy to the
Turkish and Russian backyard of the Caucasus to disturb Turkeyâ~@~Ys
balances there," he wrote.
http://www.euractiv.com/enlargement/armenia-row-hits-turkish-french-relations-news-508237