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TURKISH TIES WITH FRANCE FACE CRUCIAL TEST ON 'GENOCIDE' BILL
Hurriyet Daily News
Jan 23 2012
Turkey
Ankara will unveil a raft of new measures against Paris if the French
Senate approves a bill to criminalize rejection of the 'Armenian
genocide' today.
Nearly 40,000 Turks marched in Paris on Jan 21, protesting a draft
law that will be discussed by the French Senate today. Protesters
carried Turkish flags and chanted slogans against French President
Nicolas Sarkozy. AP photo
Turkey could downgrade its diplomatic ties with Paris and cut
cooperation in education and culture as part of a second round of
sanctions against France if the country's Senate approves a bill
criminalizing the denial of the Armenian genocide today.
The French Senate is set to discuss the bill today at 3 p.m. local
time.
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu canceled a trip to Brussels where
he was supposed to meet with EU foreign ministers to discuss the
Arab Spring today. "He wanted to stay in Ankara to speedily evaluate
the voting results of the French Senate and take necessary actions,"
a diplomatic source said.
"Relations will never be the same. We have made it very clear that
they are about to lose the friendship of Turkey," a diplomatic source
told the Hürriyet Daily News over the weekend, confirming that the
package of sanctions was almost finalized.
The Turkish government earlier announced that it had prepared three
different sets of sanctions against France with each of them to be
activated in line with the legislation's gradual passage through the
French parliamentary system. The first package was composed of eight
measures and mainly focused on military and political cooperation. The
second, however, will be harsher than the first one, according to
the diplomats.
The contentious bill threatens to punish those who deny that the 1915
events constituted genocide with a year in jail and a 45,000-euro fine.
French envoy to return home
The most important measure is expected to include the downgrading of
diplomatic relations and will likely obligate French Ambassador to
Turkey Laurent Bili to leave Ankara just a year after he began his term
if the bill passes. Turkey will also withdraw its ambassador to Paris,
Tahsin Burcuoğlu, for an indefinite time in a sign that restoring
ties will take much longer than the French government believes.
However, a heavier move could be the cancelation of a bilateral
treaty that helped pave the way for the establishment of Galatasaray
University in 1992 following a treaty signed between the two
countries. The move will not change the nature of the education at
the university, the only institute of higher learning in Turkey whose
language of instruction is French, but will end any official French
involvement in academic work.
Tax audit for French school
For Bili, there have been harbingers of harsher Turkish measures in
recent days as Lycée de Charles de Gaulle in Ankara was subjected to a
tax audit by Turkish state authorities even though the school belongs
to the French Embassy and is not governed by Turkish regulations.
"This is an unprecedented move for an embassy school. This school is
beyond Turkish legislation. It's not a private school either. It's
a non-profit state school subordinated to French regulations," Bili
said in an interview with daily Cumhuriyet over the weekend.
The package, which will be announced immediately after the voting at
the Senate, is expected to include some more measures but steps in
the fields of economic and trade are not likely to be on the list.
At the same time, the government is not expected to discourage boycott
campaigns against French products by civil society.
But Bili said an overreaction by Turkey would hurt Turkey's image in
the eyes of the French people. "While showing reaction, one should
also think about the future and not cut off all ties."
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç described the legislation
as a move to attract the votes of the Armenian diaspora.
Addressing French authorities, he asked: "What will you do against
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan if he denies the Armenian genocide
while visiting France? There are thousands of Turkish and French
intellectuals who will take this risk."
Arınc said he was sure the Senate would reject the bill.
Hurriyet Daily News
Jan 23 2012
Turkey
Ankara will unveil a raft of new measures against Paris if the French
Senate approves a bill to criminalize rejection of the 'Armenian
genocide' today.
Nearly 40,000 Turks marched in Paris on Jan 21, protesting a draft
law that will be discussed by the French Senate today. Protesters
carried Turkish flags and chanted slogans against French President
Nicolas Sarkozy. AP photo
Turkey could downgrade its diplomatic ties with Paris and cut
cooperation in education and culture as part of a second round of
sanctions against France if the country's Senate approves a bill
criminalizing the denial of the Armenian genocide today.
The French Senate is set to discuss the bill today at 3 p.m. local
time.
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu canceled a trip to Brussels where
he was supposed to meet with EU foreign ministers to discuss the
Arab Spring today. "He wanted to stay in Ankara to speedily evaluate
the voting results of the French Senate and take necessary actions,"
a diplomatic source said.
"Relations will never be the same. We have made it very clear that
they are about to lose the friendship of Turkey," a diplomatic source
told the Hürriyet Daily News over the weekend, confirming that the
package of sanctions was almost finalized.
The Turkish government earlier announced that it had prepared three
different sets of sanctions against France with each of them to be
activated in line with the legislation's gradual passage through the
French parliamentary system. The first package was composed of eight
measures and mainly focused on military and political cooperation. The
second, however, will be harsher than the first one, according to
the diplomats.
The contentious bill threatens to punish those who deny that the 1915
events constituted genocide with a year in jail and a 45,000-euro fine.
French envoy to return home
The most important measure is expected to include the downgrading of
diplomatic relations and will likely obligate French Ambassador to
Turkey Laurent Bili to leave Ankara just a year after he began his term
if the bill passes. Turkey will also withdraw its ambassador to Paris,
Tahsin Burcuoğlu, for an indefinite time in a sign that restoring
ties will take much longer than the French government believes.
However, a heavier move could be the cancelation of a bilateral
treaty that helped pave the way for the establishment of Galatasaray
University in 1992 following a treaty signed between the two
countries. The move will not change the nature of the education at
the university, the only institute of higher learning in Turkey whose
language of instruction is French, but will end any official French
involvement in academic work.
Tax audit for French school
For Bili, there have been harbingers of harsher Turkish measures in
recent days as Lycée de Charles de Gaulle in Ankara was subjected to a
tax audit by Turkish state authorities even though the school belongs
to the French Embassy and is not governed by Turkish regulations.
"This is an unprecedented move for an embassy school. This school is
beyond Turkish legislation. It's not a private school either. It's
a non-profit state school subordinated to French regulations," Bili
said in an interview with daily Cumhuriyet over the weekend.
The package, which will be announced immediately after the voting at
the Senate, is expected to include some more measures but steps in
the fields of economic and trade are not likely to be on the list.
At the same time, the government is not expected to discourage boycott
campaigns against French products by civil society.
But Bili said an overreaction by Turkey would hurt Turkey's image in
the eyes of the French people. "While showing reaction, one should
also think about the future and not cut off all ties."
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç described the legislation
as a move to attract the votes of the Armenian diaspora.
Addressing French authorities, he asked: "What will you do against
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan if he denies the Armenian genocide
while visiting France? There are thousands of Turkish and French
intellectuals who will take this risk."
Arınc said he was sure the Senate would reject the bill.