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KEEP ADVICE TO YOURSELF, TURKISH PM TELLS SARKOZY OVER ARMENIA REMARKS
Today's Zaman, Turkey
Oct 11 2011
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday lashed out at
French President Nicholas Sarkozy for recent remarks calling on Turkey
to face its history and recognize the 1915 killings of Armenians as
genocide, saying the French leader should keep his advice to himself.
"You see the French president, Sarkozy, is giving some advice to
Turkey in a move to invest in the [upcoming French] elections. You
should first listen to your own advice. He is different in France,
different in Armenia and more different in Turkey. There cannot be
a political leader with so many faces. Politics requires honesty,"
Erdogan said during a speech delivered at his party's parliamentary
group meeting.
Recalling that there are nearly 600,000 Armenians in France, but
there are also as much as 500,000 Turks in France, he accused the
French president of disregarding his country's relations with Turkey
for such "minor calculations." "Holding the title of a statesman
requires thinking about future generations, not future elections. It
will be too late for those who fail to understand this now when they
understand the reality," Erdogan added.
Sarkozy drew a strong negative reaction from Turkey when he said
last Thursday on a short trip to Armenia that Turkey should 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 on 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."
Amidst tension between the two countries over Sarkozy's remarks, French
Foreign Minister Alain Juppe will pay an official visit to Ankara on
Oct. 26 at the invitation of his Turkish counterpart, Ahmet Davutoglu.
France has long been urging Turkey to acknowledge that the allegations
of genocide 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.
The issue of the World War I-era killings of Armenians 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
under 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.
Opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli
also targeted Sarkozy during his party's parliamentary group meeting
on Tuesday. "Our advice for Sarkozy is that if he wants to see an
example of genocide, he should look back at his history. He will
clearly see the atrocities committed in Algeria and will notice
explicit or implicit massacres in North Africa," Bahceli said.
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-259505-keep-advice-to-yourself-turkish-pm-tells-sarkozy-over-armenia-remarks.html
Today's Zaman, Turkey
Oct 11 2011
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday lashed out at
French President Nicholas Sarkozy for recent remarks calling on Turkey
to face its history and recognize the 1915 killings of Armenians as
genocide, saying the French leader should keep his advice to himself.
"You see the French president, Sarkozy, is giving some advice to
Turkey in a move to invest in the [upcoming French] elections. You
should first listen to your own advice. He is different in France,
different in Armenia and more different in Turkey. There cannot be
a political leader with so many faces. Politics requires honesty,"
Erdogan said during a speech delivered at his party's parliamentary
group meeting.
Recalling that there are nearly 600,000 Armenians in France, but
there are also as much as 500,000 Turks in France, he accused the
French president of disregarding his country's relations with Turkey
for such "minor calculations." "Holding the title of a statesman
requires thinking about future generations, not future elections. It
will be too late for those who fail to understand this now when they
understand the reality," Erdogan added.
Sarkozy drew a strong negative reaction from Turkey when he said
last Thursday on a short trip to Armenia that Turkey should 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 on 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."
Amidst tension between the two countries over Sarkozy's remarks, French
Foreign Minister Alain Juppe will pay an official visit to Ankara on
Oct. 26 at the invitation of his Turkish counterpart, Ahmet Davutoglu.
France has long been urging Turkey to acknowledge that the allegations
of genocide 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.
The issue of the World War I-era killings of Armenians 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
under 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.
Opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli
also targeted Sarkozy during his party's parliamentary group meeting
on Tuesday. "Our advice for Sarkozy is that if he wants to see an
example of genocide, he should look back at his history. He will
clearly see the atrocities committed in Algeria and will notice
explicit or implicit massacres in North Africa," Bahceli said.
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-259505-keep-advice-to-yourself-turkish-pm-tells-sarkozy-over-armenia-remarks.html