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ROW CONTINUES BETWEEN FRANCE AND TURKEY
Voice of Russia
Jan 24 2012
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has surprised the public
when, instead of announcing new sanctions he had been expected to
impose on France, he simply criticized the French Senate's decision
and called for tolerance. The Upper House of France had adopted a
draft bill which envisages that anybody who denies the genocide of
Armenians will face a year in jail and a fine of 45,000 Euros.
Traditionally, the Turks have been very sensitive to any criticism
of the events of 1915. But what upset the most was that historical
reality has been transferred into politics. On the 22nd of December
when the Lower House of the French parliament approved the bill on
genocide denial, rumours engulfed that President Nicolas Sarkozy
had there by wanted to secure the support of France's large Armenian
Diaspora in the forthcoming presidential elections.
"France has several items on its agenda in relation to Turkey. These
include obstructing Turkey's bid to join the European Union
and preventing it from increasing its influence in the Eastern
Mediterranean. The third one is Sarkozy's and his supporters' have
covert hatred towards Turkey. This is not just an attempt to win the
votes ahead of the elections, but it's also France's general attitude
towards Turkey," an international affairs journalist at the Turkish
daily "Milliyet" Semikh Idiz said in an interview with the Voice
of Russia.
After the bill was approved by the Lower House of French parliament
in December, Prime Minister Erdogan announced a package of eight
sanctions against France. The Sabakh, an influential Turkish daily
published a provisional list of sanctions which Turkey intended to
impose against France. These included the expulsion of the French
Ambassador to Ankara, the suspension of political cooperation on
the Syrian issue, a ban on French ships and aircraft from entering
Turkey's ports and airports, a boycott of purchase of Airbus planes and
exerting efforts to persuade other PACE members to adopt anti-French
policies. In addition to this, according to Turkish daily Milliyat,
French companies will be banned from taking part in Turkish tenders.
The Turkish public kept a close eye on what went on in the French
Senate Monday evening and night. Television channels broadcast live
debates and there were interviews taken in the streets of Paris. Many
politicians criticized the document during their interviews.
Commenting on the French Senate's decision, Turkish Foreign Minister
Ahmet Davtoglu said: "This decision will put the European values under
threat. If the parliament bases its decision on its own approach
towards history taking into account internal political decisions,
an era of inquisition will descend on Europe. Any books opposing
these views will be burned. People who express any opinion or make
any statement of historical analysis which will be at variance with
the adopted views will be sent to prisons. We all know that things
like these took place during the inquisition in the Middle Ages. It's
a disgrace for France to revive them".
Turkish Ambassador to Paris Tahsin Burcouglu also emphasized that
this decision was a big mistake.
"The decision made by the Senate does a great injustice to Turkey
and shows a lack of respect for it," Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin
told CNN-Turk.
However, as for Prime Minister Erdogan, he confined himself to mere
criticism of the move. "The bill adopted in France is discriminative
and racist and is a deadly blow to freethinking. As far as we are
concerned, it is not a law". Such a decision by the Prime Minister
could be seen as his unwillingness to take any hasty steps since the
Senate's decision can still be appealed. Prime Minister announced
that the sanctions against France would be implemented step-by-step.
In the meantime, Turks are planning to attempt to bring discussion
on the introduction of a criminal responsibility for denying genocide
of Armenians to the European Court of Human Rights.
Voice of Russia
Jan 24 2012
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has surprised the public
when, instead of announcing new sanctions he had been expected to
impose on France, he simply criticized the French Senate's decision
and called for tolerance. The Upper House of France had adopted a
draft bill which envisages that anybody who denies the genocide of
Armenians will face a year in jail and a fine of 45,000 Euros.
Traditionally, the Turks have been very sensitive to any criticism
of the events of 1915. But what upset the most was that historical
reality has been transferred into politics. On the 22nd of December
when the Lower House of the French parliament approved the bill on
genocide denial, rumours engulfed that President Nicolas Sarkozy
had there by wanted to secure the support of France's large Armenian
Diaspora in the forthcoming presidential elections.
"France has several items on its agenda in relation to Turkey. These
include obstructing Turkey's bid to join the European Union
and preventing it from increasing its influence in the Eastern
Mediterranean. The third one is Sarkozy's and his supporters' have
covert hatred towards Turkey. This is not just an attempt to win the
votes ahead of the elections, but it's also France's general attitude
towards Turkey," an international affairs journalist at the Turkish
daily "Milliyet" Semikh Idiz said in an interview with the Voice
of Russia.
After the bill was approved by the Lower House of French parliament
in December, Prime Minister Erdogan announced a package of eight
sanctions against France. The Sabakh, an influential Turkish daily
published a provisional list of sanctions which Turkey intended to
impose against France. These included the expulsion of the French
Ambassador to Ankara, the suspension of political cooperation on
the Syrian issue, a ban on French ships and aircraft from entering
Turkey's ports and airports, a boycott of purchase of Airbus planes and
exerting efforts to persuade other PACE members to adopt anti-French
policies. In addition to this, according to Turkish daily Milliyat,
French companies will be banned from taking part in Turkish tenders.
The Turkish public kept a close eye on what went on in the French
Senate Monday evening and night. Television channels broadcast live
debates and there were interviews taken in the streets of Paris. Many
politicians criticized the document during their interviews.
Commenting on the French Senate's decision, Turkish Foreign Minister
Ahmet Davtoglu said: "This decision will put the European values under
threat. If the parliament bases its decision on its own approach
towards history taking into account internal political decisions,
an era of inquisition will descend on Europe. Any books opposing
these views will be burned. People who express any opinion or make
any statement of historical analysis which will be at variance with
the adopted views will be sent to prisons. We all know that things
like these took place during the inquisition in the Middle Ages. It's
a disgrace for France to revive them".
Turkish Ambassador to Paris Tahsin Burcouglu also emphasized that
this decision was a big mistake.
"The decision made by the Senate does a great injustice to Turkey
and shows a lack of respect for it," Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin
told CNN-Turk.
However, as for Prime Minister Erdogan, he confined himself to mere
criticism of the move. "The bill adopted in France is discriminative
and racist and is a deadly blow to freethinking. As far as we are
concerned, it is not a law". Such a decision by the Prime Minister
could be seen as his unwillingness to take any hasty steps since the
Senate's decision can still be appealed. Prime Minister announced
that the sanctions against France would be implemented step-by-step.
In the meantime, Turks are planning to attempt to bring discussion
on the introduction of a criminal responsibility for denying genocide
of Armenians to the European Court of Human Rights.