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TURKEY THREATENS SANCTIONS OVER ARMENIAN GENOCIDE BILL
France 24
http://www.france24.com/en/20120123-turkey-threatens-permananent-sanctions-ahead-genocide-bill-vote-senate
Jan 23 2012
Turkey has threatened "permanent sanctions" against France if the
Senate approves a bill that would criminalise denying genocides that
are officially recognised by the French state.
By Tony Todd (text) Ankara will impose "permanent" sanctions against
France if the Senate approves a bill to criminalise denying that
the mass killing of Armenians in 1915 amounted to genocide, Turkey's
foreign minister told FRANCE 24 on Sunday.
The Senate, the country's upper house of parliament, is due to vote
on Monday to approve a bill that was passed by the lower National
Assembly last month.
Senators from both the ruling conservative UMP party, as well as
opposition Socialists, have indicated that they will vote in favour
of the bill which is expected to be passed.
The draft law would outlaw any public denial of genocides recognised
by the French state, including the Holocaust of the Second World War
as well as the massacre of ethnic Armenians in Ottoman Turkey in 1915.
France officially recognised the Armenian killings as genocide in
2001. The new bill would punish denial with a year's jail and a fine
of up to 45,000 euros.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told FRANCE 24 that the
proposed law was an affront to freedom of expression that would make
him a criminal for openly discussing an "historical tragedy".
"If I am asked a question by a journalist, how could I remain silent?"
he asked. "This bill would punish me for having an opinion on an
historical event. It goes against all European and French values of
freedom of expression."
'Political opportunism'
The bill was passed by the French National Assembly on December 23,
2011 - a move that sparked outrage in Turkey which briefly withdrew
its ambassador and froze all military cooperation with France.
Davutoglu accused French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who is languishing
in the polls ahead of elections in May, of using the bill to gain
approval from France's significant Armenian population of some
500,000 voters.
"The painful history of Armenians and Turks is being used ... for
political opportunism and against the basic values of politics,"
he said.
He added: "There will be further sanctions [if the bill is passed]
and they will be permanent."
According to Armenian historians, up to 1.5 million of their forbears
were killed by the Ottoman Turk forces in 1915.
They also say that property and cash criminally appropriated from
the Christian Armenian minority helped Kemal Attaturk, the founder
of modern Turkey, establish his Turkish republic in 1923 - something
they say Turks are nowadays loath to admit.
Turkey rejects this figure and denies that the massacre amounted
to genocide - claiming that 500,000 Armenians were killed in the
context of a world war and an invasion of the country by Russia that
was supported by the county's ethnic Armenian minority.
France 24
http://www.france24.com/en/20120123-turkey-threatens-permananent-sanctions-ahead-genocide-bill-vote-senate
Jan 23 2012
Turkey has threatened "permanent sanctions" against France if the
Senate approves a bill that would criminalise denying genocides that
are officially recognised by the French state.
By Tony Todd (text) Ankara will impose "permanent" sanctions against
France if the Senate approves a bill to criminalise denying that
the mass killing of Armenians in 1915 amounted to genocide, Turkey's
foreign minister told FRANCE 24 on Sunday.
The Senate, the country's upper house of parliament, is due to vote
on Monday to approve a bill that was passed by the lower National
Assembly last month.
Senators from both the ruling conservative UMP party, as well as
opposition Socialists, have indicated that they will vote in favour
of the bill which is expected to be passed.
The draft law would outlaw any public denial of genocides recognised
by the French state, including the Holocaust of the Second World War
as well as the massacre of ethnic Armenians in Ottoman Turkey in 1915.
France officially recognised the Armenian killings as genocide in
2001. The new bill would punish denial with a year's jail and a fine
of up to 45,000 euros.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told FRANCE 24 that the
proposed law was an affront to freedom of expression that would make
him a criminal for openly discussing an "historical tragedy".
"If I am asked a question by a journalist, how could I remain silent?"
he asked. "This bill would punish me for having an opinion on an
historical event. It goes against all European and French values of
freedom of expression."
'Political opportunism'
The bill was passed by the French National Assembly on December 23,
2011 - a move that sparked outrage in Turkey which briefly withdrew
its ambassador and froze all military cooperation with France.
Davutoglu accused French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who is languishing
in the polls ahead of elections in May, of using the bill to gain
approval from France's significant Armenian population of some
500,000 voters.
"The painful history of Armenians and Turks is being used ... for
political opportunism and against the basic values of politics,"
he said.
He added: "There will be further sanctions [if the bill is passed]
and they will be permanent."
According to Armenian historians, up to 1.5 million of their forbears
were killed by the Ottoman Turk forces in 1915.
They also say that property and cash criminally appropriated from
the Christian Armenian minority helped Kemal Attaturk, the founder
of modern Turkey, establish his Turkish republic in 1923 - something
they say Turks are nowadays loath to admit.
Turkey rejects this figure and denies that the massacre amounted
to genocide - claiming that 500,000 Armenians were killed in the
context of a world war and an invasion of the country by Russia that
was supported by the county's ethnic Armenian minority.