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FRANCE RISKS 'PERMANENT' TURKEY IRE WITH GENOCIDE LAW VOTE
Expatica France
http://www.expatica.com/fr/news/french-news/france-risks-permanent--turkey-ire-with-genocide-law-vote_202925.html
Jan 23 2012
French senators vote Monday on a bill to outlaw denial of the Armenian
genocide. a move that a furious Turkey has vowed to punish with
"permanent" sanctions if it is passed into law.
The French lower house last month approved the bill which threatens
with jail anyone who denies that the 1915 massacre of Armenians by
Ottoman Turk forces amounted to genocide, drawing a first wave of
Turkish ire.
Ankara froze political and military ties with France and has promised
further measures if the measure is passed by the Senate or is approved
by President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose right-wing UMP party put forward
the bill.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Saturday repeated Ankara's
fierce opposition to the bill which he said would result in "permanent
sanctions", saying it goes against European values and would not help
Turkish-Armenian relations
"There will be more sanctions and this time, the sanctions will be
permanent, until the change in French position," he said.
"It is time for French intellectuals, for French senators to defend
our common values, freedom of expression. These are European, French
values. This is against these values".
Around 15,000 Turks from France, Belgium, the Netherlands and
Luxembourg rallied peacefully on the streets of Paris on Saturday to
protest the law.
Davutoglu cancelled a trip to Brussels on Monday to brief EU foreign
ministers on his visit to Tehran before they vote further sanctions
over Iran's nuclear drive, saying he wanted to follow the French vote.
In a bid to defuse the crisis, Sarkozy sent a conciliatory letter to
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, released by the French
embassy in Ankara on Friday.
"I hope we can make reason prevail and maintain our dialogue, as befits
allied and friendly countries," Sarkozy wrote, adding that the measure
"is in no way aimed at any state or people in particular."
He expressed the wish that Turkey "assess the common interests which
unite our two countries and our two peoples."
But the bill has not won universal support in the government, where
some ministers fear it will hurt diplomatic and trade ties with a
NATO ally and major economic partner.
Even Sarkozy's Foreign Minister Alain Juppe has admitted the bill is
"untimely".
A Senate Laws Commission on Wednesday rejected the bill, but their
vote is not expected to prevent the bill becoming law.
Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their forebears were killed in
1915 and 1916 by the forces of Turkey's former Ottoman Empire.
Turkey disputes the figure, arguing that only 500,000 died, and denies
this was genocide, ascribing the toll to fighting and starvation during
World War I and accusing the Armenians of siding with Russian invaders.
France recognised the killings as a genocide in 2001, but the new
bill would go further, by punishing anyone who denies this with a
year in jail and a fine of 45,000 euros ($57,000).
Modern Turkey is extremely sensitive about the issue, and has accused
France of attacking freedom of expression and free historical enquiry.
France is home to an estimated 500,000 citizens of Armenian descent,
and Sarkozy's UMP has been accused of backing the law in order
to pander to a key electoral demographic three months ahead of a
presidential election.
Expatica France
http://www.expatica.com/fr/news/french-news/france-risks-permanent--turkey-ire-with-genocide-law-vote_202925.html
Jan 23 2012
French senators vote Monday on a bill to outlaw denial of the Armenian
genocide. a move that a furious Turkey has vowed to punish with
"permanent" sanctions if it is passed into law.
The French lower house last month approved the bill which threatens
with jail anyone who denies that the 1915 massacre of Armenians by
Ottoman Turk forces amounted to genocide, drawing a first wave of
Turkish ire.
Ankara froze political and military ties with France and has promised
further measures if the measure is passed by the Senate or is approved
by President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose right-wing UMP party put forward
the bill.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Saturday repeated Ankara's
fierce opposition to the bill which he said would result in "permanent
sanctions", saying it goes against European values and would not help
Turkish-Armenian relations
"There will be more sanctions and this time, the sanctions will be
permanent, until the change in French position," he said.
"It is time for French intellectuals, for French senators to defend
our common values, freedom of expression. These are European, French
values. This is against these values".
Around 15,000 Turks from France, Belgium, the Netherlands and
Luxembourg rallied peacefully on the streets of Paris on Saturday to
protest the law.
Davutoglu cancelled a trip to Brussels on Monday to brief EU foreign
ministers on his visit to Tehran before they vote further sanctions
over Iran's nuclear drive, saying he wanted to follow the French vote.
In a bid to defuse the crisis, Sarkozy sent a conciliatory letter to
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, released by the French
embassy in Ankara on Friday.
"I hope we can make reason prevail and maintain our dialogue, as befits
allied and friendly countries," Sarkozy wrote, adding that the measure
"is in no way aimed at any state or people in particular."
He expressed the wish that Turkey "assess the common interests which
unite our two countries and our two peoples."
But the bill has not won universal support in the government, where
some ministers fear it will hurt diplomatic and trade ties with a
NATO ally and major economic partner.
Even Sarkozy's Foreign Minister Alain Juppe has admitted the bill is
"untimely".
A Senate Laws Commission on Wednesday rejected the bill, but their
vote is not expected to prevent the bill becoming law.
Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their forebears were killed in
1915 and 1916 by the forces of Turkey's former Ottoman Empire.
Turkey disputes the figure, arguing that only 500,000 died, and denies
this was genocide, ascribing the toll to fighting and starvation during
World War I and accusing the Armenians of siding with Russian invaders.
France recognised the killings as a genocide in 2001, but the new
bill would go further, by punishing anyone who denies this with a
year in jail and a fine of 45,000 euros ($57,000).
Modern Turkey is extremely sensitive about the issue, and has accused
France of attacking freedom of expression and free historical enquiry.
France is home to an estimated 500,000 citizens of Armenian descent,
and Sarkozy's UMP has been accused of backing the law in order
to pander to a key electoral demographic three months ahead of a
presidential election.