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TURKEY ATTACKS FRANCE OVER ARMENIAN 'GENOCIDE' BILL
Daily Telegraph
24 Jan 2012
UK
Turkey has warned Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, against
signing a law that makes it a crime to deny that the killings of
Armenians by Ottoman Turks nearly a century ago constituted a genocide.
Franco-Turkish demonstrators wave French and Turkish flags near the
French Senate in Paris Photo: EPA/IAN LANGSDON9:11AM GMT
France's parliament approved the bill late on Monday, risking more
sanctions from Turkey and complicating an already delicate relationship
with the rising power.
Turkey, which sees the allegations of genocide as a threat to
its national honour, has already suspended military, economic and
political ties and briefly recalled its ambassador last month when
the lower house of parliament approved the same bill.
Turkey's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday strongly condemned the decision,
and called it an example of irresponsibility. It said the law should
not be finalised to "avoid this being recorded as part of France's
political, legal and moral mistakes."
Mr Sarkozy, whose party supported the bill, needs to sign it into law,
but that is largely considered a formality.
"We find it useful to remind all parties that, in case of the
completion of the finalisation process for the law, we will not
hesitate to implement, as we deem appropriate, the measures that we
have considered in advance," Turkey's Foreign Ministry said.
"Similarly, it must be also known that we will continue to strongly
use our right to defend ourselves on a legitimate basis against
unfair allegations."
The debate surrounding the measure comes in the highly charged run-up
to France's presidential elections this spring, and critics have
called the move a ploy by Sarkozy to garner the votes of the some
500,000 Armenians who live in France.
"It is further unfortunate that the historical and multidimensional
relations between the Republic of Turkey and France have been
sacrificed to considerations of political agenda," Turkey said. "It
is quite clear where the responsibility for this lies."
Daily Telegraph
24 Jan 2012
UK
Turkey has warned Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, against
signing a law that makes it a crime to deny that the killings of
Armenians by Ottoman Turks nearly a century ago constituted a genocide.
Franco-Turkish demonstrators wave French and Turkish flags near the
French Senate in Paris Photo: EPA/IAN LANGSDON9:11AM GMT
France's parliament approved the bill late on Monday, risking more
sanctions from Turkey and complicating an already delicate relationship
with the rising power.
Turkey, which sees the allegations of genocide as a threat to
its national honour, has already suspended military, economic and
political ties and briefly recalled its ambassador last month when
the lower house of parliament approved the same bill.
Turkey's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday strongly condemned the decision,
and called it an example of irresponsibility. It said the law should
not be finalised to "avoid this being recorded as part of France's
political, legal and moral mistakes."
Mr Sarkozy, whose party supported the bill, needs to sign it into law,
but that is largely considered a formality.
"We find it useful to remind all parties that, in case of the
completion of the finalisation process for the law, we will not
hesitate to implement, as we deem appropriate, the measures that we
have considered in advance," Turkey's Foreign Ministry said.
"Similarly, it must be also known that we will continue to strongly
use our right to defend ourselves on a legitimate basis against
unfair allegations."
The debate surrounding the measure comes in the highly charged run-up
to France's presidential elections this spring, and critics have
called the move a ploy by Sarkozy to garner the votes of the some
500,000 Armenians who live in France.
"It is further unfortunate that the historical and multidimensional
relations between the Republic of Turkey and France have been
sacrificed to considerations of political agenda," Turkey said. "It
is quite clear where the responsibility for this lies."