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Today's Zaman, Turkey
Jan 4 2012
Analyzing France's Armenian bill
by Ramazan Gözen*
4 January 2012 / ,
The French National Assembly approved a bill to punish those who deny
Armenian allegations about the 1915 incidents with a prison term of
one year and a fine of 45,000 euros.
Although not as yet signed into law, this initiative as such is
against the objective norms of law, logic and reason. It is known that
the bill was passed not with the purpose of protecting rights or the
law but out of concerns for French domestic politics.
It is nothing other than a distressful period in history being
exploited for political ploys. That the bill was passed by only 10
percent of the members who make up the French parliament was in itself
odd. That may be in line with French law, but it is openly in
contravention of the understanding of universal law. This bill, which
is likely to deeply impact France's domestic and foreign policy,
having been accepted by such a small group, is a strange development
even for French democracy. Why this maneuver, employed by vote-hungry
President Nicolas Sarkozy, who aspires to entice more people to his
side and his party, is going to be binding on the French people is
also difficult to comprehend. Whether or not it is going to be a law
aside, even the making of such a decision has already inflicted damage
on relations.
The second dimension of the damage concerns Turkish-French relations.
Turkey, which has strongly reacted to the bill, has taken an
anti-France stance. The government has decided to take measures
against France, and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an has
unveiled an eight-measure package to this end. These measures, unless
developments in the opposite direction take place on the French side,
are bound to damage the interests of the two countries. We believe
that the bigger of the damages will be to the centuries old system of
Western institutions and values of which Turkey also wants to be a
part.
The most damaging of all is the violation of freedom of thought and
expression, which is the most vital dimension of the human rights and
freedoms the Western system is built on. While there is permission for
coming up with the allegations of a so-called genocide, denying those
the freedom to say just the opposite of that is clearly a legal
inequality. Everyone should be expected to have the right to think and
express even the most radical and misbegotten idea. Even the person
who rejects a universally acknowledged piece of information, such as
the world is round, should have the freedom to express it no matter
what his justification may be. Having freedom of expression does not
mean that he is to be taken into consideration.
Bulding a wall before the freedom of thought
No thought or view should be limited, inhibited and sealed within
barriers unless it is a slur against the personality and identity of
others or usurps their rights. Building a wall before the freedom of
thought and expression is simply undemocratic and a violation of law.
The decision made by the French National Assembly flatly conflicts
with fundamental laws and ethical norms. Everyone should have the
right to express whatever they think of the 1915 incidents. The bill
is also against the policies and values championed by the EU, which is
pungently critical of the democracy and human rights issues in non-EU
countries. That the EU has always criticized Turkey on the grounds of
freedom of thought and expression violations and that the European
Court of Human Rights has fined Turkey millions of euros using the
same arguments is very well known. The decision made by France in just
the opposite direction, when there are many decisions against Turkey
and a lot of other countries, is simply an affront to the EU. France
has cornered not only itself but also the EU by behaving the way it
has. If the EU cannot stop that, its status, already tarnished
economically and financially, will also be called into question in
terms of law and politics.
Erosion of the legal and freedom values of the EU besides its economic
and financial malaise will have an unfavorable impact on the
peripheral regions of Europe in political, social, cultural and even
security affairs. More importantly, the whole of Turkey, including its
citizens and administrators, will get more anti-France and anti-EU,
the signs of which can already be discerned. The reactions by Turkey
to France have increased considerably in the past week. Not only will
these reactions deal a blow to Turkish-French relations, they will
also have an undesirable reflection on France in Turkey and Turkey in
France. It is obvious this deterioration in bilateral ties is in the
interests of neither Turkey nor France.
The so-called Armenian genocide problems cannot be resolved in this
way but activate the potential to worsen them to the extent they can
become insoluble. It may mutually spawn ultranationalist and radical
tendencies and movements. If the aim of the French National Assembly
is to politically isolate Turkey, tear it away from the EU and put
pressure on its foreign policy -- if there is such a deep scheme
behind all that maneuvering -- the country to be harmed the most is
firstly France. The signals of that have already been seen in the
international media. The world media have come up with views that
France's move will draw reactions from almost all countries, Turkey in
particular. Finally, the French National Assembly's decision may have
pleased the Armenian diaspora, but it has certainly made for unease
among Turkish citizens of Armenian origin.
*Dr. Ramazan Gözen is an instructor at Abant İzzet Baysal University.
Jan 4 2012
Analyzing France's Armenian bill
by Ramazan Gözen*
4 January 2012 / ,
The French National Assembly approved a bill to punish those who deny
Armenian allegations about the 1915 incidents with a prison term of
one year and a fine of 45,000 euros.
Although not as yet signed into law, this initiative as such is
against the objective norms of law, logic and reason. It is known that
the bill was passed not with the purpose of protecting rights or the
law but out of concerns for French domestic politics.
It is nothing other than a distressful period in history being
exploited for political ploys. That the bill was passed by only 10
percent of the members who make up the French parliament was in itself
odd. That may be in line with French law, but it is openly in
contravention of the understanding of universal law. This bill, which
is likely to deeply impact France's domestic and foreign policy,
having been accepted by such a small group, is a strange development
even for French democracy. Why this maneuver, employed by vote-hungry
President Nicolas Sarkozy, who aspires to entice more people to his
side and his party, is going to be binding on the French people is
also difficult to comprehend. Whether or not it is going to be a law
aside, even the making of such a decision has already inflicted damage
on relations.
The second dimension of the damage concerns Turkish-French relations.
Turkey, which has strongly reacted to the bill, has taken an
anti-France stance. The government has decided to take measures
against France, and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an has
unveiled an eight-measure package to this end. These measures, unless
developments in the opposite direction take place on the French side,
are bound to damage the interests of the two countries. We believe
that the bigger of the damages will be to the centuries old system of
Western institutions and values of which Turkey also wants to be a
part.
The most damaging of all is the violation of freedom of thought and
expression, which is the most vital dimension of the human rights and
freedoms the Western system is built on. While there is permission for
coming up with the allegations of a so-called genocide, denying those
the freedom to say just the opposite of that is clearly a legal
inequality. Everyone should be expected to have the right to think and
express even the most radical and misbegotten idea. Even the person
who rejects a universally acknowledged piece of information, such as
the world is round, should have the freedom to express it no matter
what his justification may be. Having freedom of expression does not
mean that he is to be taken into consideration.
Bulding a wall before the freedom of thought
No thought or view should be limited, inhibited and sealed within
barriers unless it is a slur against the personality and identity of
others or usurps their rights. Building a wall before the freedom of
thought and expression is simply undemocratic and a violation of law.
The decision made by the French National Assembly flatly conflicts
with fundamental laws and ethical norms. Everyone should have the
right to express whatever they think of the 1915 incidents. The bill
is also against the policies and values championed by the EU, which is
pungently critical of the democracy and human rights issues in non-EU
countries. That the EU has always criticized Turkey on the grounds of
freedom of thought and expression violations and that the European
Court of Human Rights has fined Turkey millions of euros using the
same arguments is very well known. The decision made by France in just
the opposite direction, when there are many decisions against Turkey
and a lot of other countries, is simply an affront to the EU. France
has cornered not only itself but also the EU by behaving the way it
has. If the EU cannot stop that, its status, already tarnished
economically and financially, will also be called into question in
terms of law and politics.
Erosion of the legal and freedom values of the EU besides its economic
and financial malaise will have an unfavorable impact on the
peripheral regions of Europe in political, social, cultural and even
security affairs. More importantly, the whole of Turkey, including its
citizens and administrators, will get more anti-France and anti-EU,
the signs of which can already be discerned. The reactions by Turkey
to France have increased considerably in the past week. Not only will
these reactions deal a blow to Turkish-French relations, they will
also have an undesirable reflection on France in Turkey and Turkey in
France. It is obvious this deterioration in bilateral ties is in the
interests of neither Turkey nor France.
The so-called Armenian genocide problems cannot be resolved in this
way but activate the potential to worsen them to the extent they can
become insoluble. It may mutually spawn ultranationalist and radical
tendencies and movements. If the aim of the French National Assembly
is to politically isolate Turkey, tear it away from the EU and put
pressure on its foreign policy -- if there is such a deep scheme
behind all that maneuvering -- the country to be harmed the most is
firstly France. The signals of that have already been seen in the
international media. The world media have come up with views that
France's move will draw reactions from almost all countries, Turkey in
particular. Finally, the French National Assembly's decision may have
pleased the Armenian diaspora, but it has certainly made for unease
among Turkish citizens of Armenian origin.
*Dr. Ramazan Gözen is an instructor at Abant İzzet Baysal University.