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TURKEY ASKS FRANCE TO THROW OUT GENOCIDE BILL
BBC
20 January 2012
Armenians say as many as 1.5 million people died in 1915-16 Continue
reading the main story
Turkey's foreign minister has asked the French Senate to reject a
bill criminalising genocide denial, as it moves closer to becoming law.
Ahmet Davutoglu said the passing of the bill would leave a "black
stain on France's intellectual history".
Turkey froze political and military ties when the bill was passed by
the National Assembly last month.
France recognises the mass killing of Armenians in Ottoman times as
genocide - a description Turkey rejects.
Armenians say as many as 1.5 million people were slaughtered or died
of starvation and disease when they were deported in 1915-16.
Ankara says closer to 300,000 people died, and that Turks were also
killed as Armenians rose up against the Ottoman Empire when Russian
troops invaded eastern Anatolia, now eastern Turkey.
More than 20 countries have formally recognised the killings as
genocide.
'Political interests'
Senators are due to debate the bill on Monday and are likely to
approve it despite advice from one of their own committees this week.
Under the bill, those publicly denying genocide would face a year in
jail and a fine of 45,000 euros (£29,000: $58,000).
About half a million ethnic Armenians live in France and their vote
is considered important in the presidential election this spring.
There are suspicions in Turkey that the bill is aimed at wooing
this electorate.
"We invite each French senator to stop for a while and think beyond
all political interests," Mr Davutoglu said in televised remarks.
"We expect [President Nicolas] Sarkozy, his party and the French
Senate to respect European values before anything else," he said.
President Sarkozy sent a conciliatory letter to Turkish Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, released by the French embassy in
Ankara on Friday.
Turks have demonstrated outside the French consulate in Istanbul "I
hope we can make reason prevail and maintain our dialogue, as befits
allied and friendly countries," he wrote.
He added that the bill was "in no way aimed at any state or people
in particular".
The fate of the Armenians under the Ottomans remains a sensitive
issue inside Turkey.
On Thursday there were large demonstrations to mark five years since
the murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink.
Mr Dink, shot dead outside the Istanbul offices of Turkish-Armenian
newspaper Agos, had angered Turkish nationalists by using the term
"genocide".
BBC
20 January 2012
Armenians say as many as 1.5 million people died in 1915-16 Continue
reading the main story
Turkey's foreign minister has asked the French Senate to reject a
bill criminalising genocide denial, as it moves closer to becoming law.
Ahmet Davutoglu said the passing of the bill would leave a "black
stain on France's intellectual history".
Turkey froze political and military ties when the bill was passed by
the National Assembly last month.
France recognises the mass killing of Armenians in Ottoman times as
genocide - a description Turkey rejects.
Armenians say as many as 1.5 million people were slaughtered or died
of starvation and disease when they were deported in 1915-16.
Ankara says closer to 300,000 people died, and that Turks were also
killed as Armenians rose up against the Ottoman Empire when Russian
troops invaded eastern Anatolia, now eastern Turkey.
More than 20 countries have formally recognised the killings as
genocide.
'Political interests'
Senators are due to debate the bill on Monday and are likely to
approve it despite advice from one of their own committees this week.
Under the bill, those publicly denying genocide would face a year in
jail and a fine of 45,000 euros (£29,000: $58,000).
About half a million ethnic Armenians live in France and their vote
is considered important in the presidential election this spring.
There are suspicions in Turkey that the bill is aimed at wooing
this electorate.
"We invite each French senator to stop for a while and think beyond
all political interests," Mr Davutoglu said in televised remarks.
"We expect [President Nicolas] Sarkozy, his party and the French
Senate to respect European values before anything else," he said.
President Sarkozy sent a conciliatory letter to Turkish Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, released by the French embassy in
Ankara on Friday.
Turks have demonstrated outside the French consulate in Istanbul "I
hope we can make reason prevail and maintain our dialogue, as befits
allied and friendly countries," he wrote.
He added that the bill was "in no way aimed at any state or people
in particular".
The fate of the Armenians under the Ottomans remains a sensitive
issue inside Turkey.
On Thursday there were large demonstrations to mark five years since
the murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink.
Mr Dink, shot dead outside the Istanbul offices of Turkish-Armenian
newspaper Agos, had angered Turkish nationalists by using the term
"genocide".