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FRANCE IGNORES TURK THREATS, VOWS GENOCIDE LAW IN TWO WEEKS
Expatica France
Jan 24 2012
France on Tuesday brushed off angry threats of retaliation by Turkey
and vowed to enforce within a fortnight a new law banning denial of
the Armenian genocide.
The French Senate on Monday approved the measure which threatens with
jail anyone in France who denies that the 1915 massacre of Armenians
by Ottoman Turk forces amounted to genocide.
That sparked a furious reaction in Turkey, where hundreds protested
outside the French embassy in Ankara and Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan denounced the move as "tantamount to discrimination
and racism".
Erdogan warned that his Islamist-rooted government would punish Paris
with unspecified retaliatory measures if Sarkozy, whose right-wing
UMP party initiated the bill, signed it into law.
But Sarkozy appeared undeterred.
"The president of the republic will promulgate the law punishing denial
of the genocide of the Armenians in 1915 within the normal timeframe,"
which is two weeks, a Sarkozy aide said.
France has already officially recognised the killings as a genocide,
but the new law would go further, by punishing anyone who denies this
with a year in jail and a fine of 45,000 euros ($57,000).
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 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.
Armenia hailed the passage of the bill through the French Senate,
with President Serzh Sarkisian writing in a letter to Sarkozy:
"France has reaffirmed its greatness and power, its devotion to
universal human values."
The world's largest Muslim body, the Organisation of Islamic
Cooperation, meanwhile rejected the bill as inconsistent with
historical facts.
Turkey's ally Azerbaijan blasted the French vote. The foreign ministry
in Baku said the move was "against the principles of democracy,
human rights, freedom of speech and expression".
French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe, who has publicly said he was
against the bill, appealed Tuesday to France's "Turkish friends" for
calm as Turks reacted furiously to the Senate's approval of the bill.
But his call went unheeded.
Erdogan said: "We will implement our sanctions step by step,
without any retreat. We'll publicise our action plan according to
the developments on the ground."
When France's lower house passed the bill last month, Ankara recalled
its envoy to Paris for consultations and froze political and military
ties with Paris while vowing to impose "permanent" sanctions if the
measure is finally adopted.
But before French Senate vote, Turkey sent its ambassador Tahsin
Burcuoglu back to Paris to keep up pressure on French senators to
oppose the bill.
If it takes effect, the law is expected to hurt diplomatic and trade
ties between the two NATO allies, and Turkey has drawn up contingency
plans.
"We are all prepared. The state's alternative plans are all ready,"
a senior Turkish foreign ministry diplomat told AFP.
Possible new sanctions include lowering diplomatic ties to the level
of charge d'affaires and halting cultural and scientific cooperation.
The Turkish government has so far avoided calling for a full boycott
of French products under pressure from the Turkish business community.
Trade between Turkey and France was worth 12 billion euros ($15.5
billion) in 2010, with several hundred French businesses operating
here.
The Turkish press on Tuesday expressed collective fury over the bill,
accusing France of breaching the right of freedom of expression.
"Shame on you, France" the daily Vatan said. "France, where the ideal
of freedom was born, has delivered the hardest blow to the freedom
of expression," it wrote.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Expatica France
Jan 24 2012
France on Tuesday brushed off angry threats of retaliation by Turkey
and vowed to enforce within a fortnight a new law banning denial of
the Armenian genocide.
The French Senate on Monday approved the measure which threatens with
jail anyone in France who denies that the 1915 massacre of Armenians
by Ottoman Turk forces amounted to genocide.
That sparked a furious reaction in Turkey, where hundreds protested
outside the French embassy in Ankara and Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan denounced the move as "tantamount to discrimination
and racism".
Erdogan warned that his Islamist-rooted government would punish Paris
with unspecified retaliatory measures if Sarkozy, whose right-wing
UMP party initiated the bill, signed it into law.
But Sarkozy appeared undeterred.
"The president of the republic will promulgate the law punishing denial
of the genocide of the Armenians in 1915 within the normal timeframe,"
which is two weeks, a Sarkozy aide said.
France has already officially recognised the killings as a genocide,
but the new law would go further, by punishing anyone who denies this
with a year in jail and a fine of 45,000 euros ($57,000).
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 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.
Armenia hailed the passage of the bill through the French Senate,
with President Serzh Sarkisian writing in a letter to Sarkozy:
"France has reaffirmed its greatness and power, its devotion to
universal human values."
The world's largest Muslim body, the Organisation of Islamic
Cooperation, meanwhile rejected the bill as inconsistent with
historical facts.
Turkey's ally Azerbaijan blasted the French vote. The foreign ministry
in Baku said the move was "against the principles of democracy,
human rights, freedom of speech and expression".
French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe, who has publicly said he was
against the bill, appealed Tuesday to France's "Turkish friends" for
calm as Turks reacted furiously to the Senate's approval of the bill.
But his call went unheeded.
Erdogan said: "We will implement our sanctions step by step,
without any retreat. We'll publicise our action plan according to
the developments on the ground."
When France's lower house passed the bill last month, Ankara recalled
its envoy to Paris for consultations and froze political and military
ties with Paris while vowing to impose "permanent" sanctions if the
measure is finally adopted.
But before French Senate vote, Turkey sent its ambassador Tahsin
Burcuoglu back to Paris to keep up pressure on French senators to
oppose the bill.
If it takes effect, the law is expected to hurt diplomatic and trade
ties between the two NATO allies, and Turkey has drawn up contingency
plans.
"We are all prepared. The state's alternative plans are all ready,"
a senior Turkish foreign ministry diplomat told AFP.
Possible new sanctions include lowering diplomatic ties to the level
of charge d'affaires and halting cultural and scientific cooperation.
The Turkish government has so far avoided calling for a full boycott
of French products under pressure from the Turkish business community.
Trade between Turkey and France was worth 12 billion euros ($15.5
billion) in 2010, with several hundred French businesses operating
here.
The Turkish press on Tuesday expressed collective fury over the bill,
accusing France of breaching the right of freedom of expression.
"Shame on you, France" the daily Vatan said. "France, where the ideal
of freedom was born, has delivered the hardest blow to the freedom
of expression," it wrote.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress