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FRANCE: ARMENIAN GENOCIDE DENIAL A CRIME, STORM WITH ANKARA
ANSA med
http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/nations/france/2012/01/24/visualizza_new.html_48911509.html
Jan 24 2012
Italy
(ANSAmed) - PARIS, JANUARY 24 - Relations between Paris and Ankara are
in deep crisis after the French parliament definitively adopted the law
bill criminalising the denial of the Armenian genocide of 1915-1917,
which France recognised in 2001. With the bill passed by France's
National Assembly on December 22, the Senate last night adopted the
law bill after around 8 hours of debate, with 127 votes in favour and
86 against, invoking the wrath of Ankara and potentially shattering
relations between the two countries. "Our society must fight against
negationist poison", said the Minister for Relations with Parliament,
Patrick Ollier, opening debate in the Senate. Outside the debating
chamber, meanwhile, hundreds of protesters, linked to Franco-Armenian
and Franco-Turkish associations, were demanded that the law be adopted
and boycotted respectively.
The law is backed by President Nicolas Sarkozy, the majority of his
UMP party and the Socialist Party, though there are dissenters in
both parties, with some calling the bill unconstitutional, arguing
that legislators cannot take the place of historians. A year in
prison and a fine of 45,000 euros are the penalties for those who
deny the tragic episode of Ottoman history, when Armenians say that
1.5 million people died.
The bill had previously been passed by the National Assembly on
December 22, causing a first wave of diplomatic reprisals by Ankara.
Last night, reacting to the breaking news on Turkish CNN, the
country's Justice Minister, Sadullah Ergin, called it "a great
injustice". "France has shown a complete lack of respect towards
Turkey," he said. Early in the morning, the Turkish Prime Minister,
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who had followed live television coverage
from the French senate until the passing of the motion, dismissed
the law as electoral posturing, with only 90 days until the French
presidential elections, saying that he may decide never again to travel
to France. The launch of the law sees "the start of a new era in the
inquisition" and is "shameful for France," according to the Turkish
Foreign Minister, Ahmed Davutoglu, who predicted the burning of books
and "a great threat" for "European values" such as freedom of opinion,
particularly with regards to disputed episodes in history.
The Deputy Prime Minister, Bulent Arinc, said that an appeal could be
made to the European Court of Human Rights. The Turkish television
network TRT, meanwhile, has threatened to suspend its participation
in Euronews, the all-news network based in Lyon in which it has a
15.5% stake.
Turkey refuses to accept the term "genocide" but recognises the
massacre of 500,000 Armenians during the First World War, and has
spent weeks attempting to convince Paris to backtrack.
The initial approval by the National Assembly led the Turks to recall
their ambassador to France for a few weeks. Above all, however, as a
fully-fledged member of NATO, Turkey also took the decision to freeze
military and political cooperation with Paris. Erdogan's government
could now go even further, pulling out its representative in Paris
once and for all and carrying out reprisals in both the economic
and commercial sectors. The volume of bilateral exchange reached 12
billion euros in 2012 and several hundred French companies operate in
Turkey. The Ankara authorities accuse Sarkozy of wanting to ensure the
vote of the French Armenian community (which numbers around 600,000
people) with only 90 days until the presidential elections. Relations
between France and Turkey began to deteriorate in 2007, after the
arrival of Sarkozy, who has always been hostile to Turkey's entry
into the European Union.(ANSAmed).
ANSA med
http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/nations/france/2012/01/24/visualizza_new.html_48911509.html
Jan 24 2012
Italy
(ANSAmed) - PARIS, JANUARY 24 - Relations between Paris and Ankara are
in deep crisis after the French parliament definitively adopted the law
bill criminalising the denial of the Armenian genocide of 1915-1917,
which France recognised in 2001. With the bill passed by France's
National Assembly on December 22, the Senate last night adopted the
law bill after around 8 hours of debate, with 127 votes in favour and
86 against, invoking the wrath of Ankara and potentially shattering
relations between the two countries. "Our society must fight against
negationist poison", said the Minister for Relations with Parliament,
Patrick Ollier, opening debate in the Senate. Outside the debating
chamber, meanwhile, hundreds of protesters, linked to Franco-Armenian
and Franco-Turkish associations, were demanded that the law be adopted
and boycotted respectively.
The law is backed by President Nicolas Sarkozy, the majority of his
UMP party and the Socialist Party, though there are dissenters in
both parties, with some calling the bill unconstitutional, arguing
that legislators cannot take the place of historians. A year in
prison and a fine of 45,000 euros are the penalties for those who
deny the tragic episode of Ottoman history, when Armenians say that
1.5 million people died.
The bill had previously been passed by the National Assembly on
December 22, causing a first wave of diplomatic reprisals by Ankara.
Last night, reacting to the breaking news on Turkish CNN, the
country's Justice Minister, Sadullah Ergin, called it "a great
injustice". "France has shown a complete lack of respect towards
Turkey," he said. Early in the morning, the Turkish Prime Minister,
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who had followed live television coverage
from the French senate until the passing of the motion, dismissed
the law as electoral posturing, with only 90 days until the French
presidential elections, saying that he may decide never again to travel
to France. The launch of the law sees "the start of a new era in the
inquisition" and is "shameful for France," according to the Turkish
Foreign Minister, Ahmed Davutoglu, who predicted the burning of books
and "a great threat" for "European values" such as freedom of opinion,
particularly with regards to disputed episodes in history.
The Deputy Prime Minister, Bulent Arinc, said that an appeal could be
made to the European Court of Human Rights. The Turkish television
network TRT, meanwhile, has threatened to suspend its participation
in Euronews, the all-news network based in Lyon in which it has a
15.5% stake.
Turkey refuses to accept the term "genocide" but recognises the
massacre of 500,000 Armenians during the First World War, and has
spent weeks attempting to convince Paris to backtrack.
The initial approval by the National Assembly led the Turks to recall
their ambassador to France for a few weeks. Above all, however, as a
fully-fledged member of NATO, Turkey also took the decision to freeze
military and political cooperation with Paris. Erdogan's government
could now go even further, pulling out its representative in Paris
once and for all and carrying out reprisals in both the economic
and commercial sectors. The volume of bilateral exchange reached 12
billion euros in 2012 and several hundred French companies operate in
Turkey. The Ankara authorities accuse Sarkozy of wanting to ensure the
vote of the French Armenian community (which numbers around 600,000
people) with only 90 days until the presidential elections. Relations
between France and Turkey began to deteriorate in 2007, after the
arrival of Sarkozy, who has always been hostile to Turkey's entry
into the European Union.(ANSAmed).