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TURKEY MAINTAINS FRANCE SANCTIONS DESPITE NEW RULING ON GENOCIDE BILL
Today's Zaman
March 6 2012
Turkey
Turkey has decided to maintain the sanctions it imposed on France after
the nation's assembly endorsed a bill making it a crime to deny that
World War I-era mass killings of Armenians constituted a genocide,
a government spokesman said on Monday.
Bulent Arınc, who is also deputy prime minister, told reporters
following a Cabinet meeting on Monday that the controversial French
bill on the "Armenian genocide" was brought up at the meeting. He
welcomed the ruling of the French Constitutional Council, which last
week ruled that the bill is "unconstitutional" and violates freedom
of speech.
Shortly after the ruling was announced, Turkish Foreign Minister
Ahmet Davutoglu said the Cabinet would meet to consider whether
to restart economic, political and military contacts with France,
which were all frozen after French Parliament passed the law on
Jan. 23. Turkish officials argued that France's center-right government
had supported the law to secure the votes of some 500,000 Armenians
living in France. Ankara denounced the bill as an attack on freedom
of expression.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy asked his government last Tuesday to
draft a new version of the genocide-denial law after it was struck down
as unconstitutional. "The President of the Republic considers that
[genocide] denial is intolerable and must therefore be punished,"
his office wrote in a statement.
"He has asked the government to prepare a new draft taking into account
the decision of the Constitutional Council," the statement added.
Arınc downplayed Sarkozy's second attempt to bring a modified version
of the genocide-denial bill to the French Parliament, saying the
French assembly will go to recess on Tuesday before campaigning for
presidential elections, which are slated for April, starts. Arınc
added that Davutoglu urged Cabinet members during the meeting that
previously announced sanctions and measures taken against France
must continue.
From: A. Papazian
Today's Zaman
March 6 2012
Turkey
Turkey has decided to maintain the sanctions it imposed on France after
the nation's assembly endorsed a bill making it a crime to deny that
World War I-era mass killings of Armenians constituted a genocide,
a government spokesman said on Monday.
Bulent Arınc, who is also deputy prime minister, told reporters
following a Cabinet meeting on Monday that the controversial French
bill on the "Armenian genocide" was brought up at the meeting. He
welcomed the ruling of the French Constitutional Council, which last
week ruled that the bill is "unconstitutional" and violates freedom
of speech.
Shortly after the ruling was announced, Turkish Foreign Minister
Ahmet Davutoglu said the Cabinet would meet to consider whether
to restart economic, political and military contacts with France,
which were all frozen after French Parliament passed the law on
Jan. 23. Turkish officials argued that France's center-right government
had supported the law to secure the votes of some 500,000 Armenians
living in France. Ankara denounced the bill as an attack on freedom
of expression.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy asked his government last Tuesday to
draft a new version of the genocide-denial law after it was struck down
as unconstitutional. "The President of the Republic considers that
[genocide] denial is intolerable and must therefore be punished,"
his office wrote in a statement.
"He has asked the government to prepare a new draft taking into account
the decision of the Constitutional Council," the statement added.
Arınc downplayed Sarkozy's second attempt to bring a modified version
of the genocide-denial bill to the French Parliament, saying the
French assembly will go to recess on Tuesday before campaigning for
presidential elections, which are slated for April, starts. Arınc
added that Davutoglu urged Cabinet members during the meeting that
previously announced sanctions and measures taken against France
must continue.
From: A. Papazian