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Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
May 8 2012
Why Turkey should be thankful to Sarkozy?
by Barcin Yinanc
Although Turkey, both at the level of the state establishment and the
people in the street, is happy to say goodbye to Nicolas Sarkozy, the
government may not immediately reverse its decision to partially
suspend bilateral ties with France, which was made in response to
Sarkozy's obsession with stigmatizing Turks using the Armenian issue.
This is not to say that the Turkish government is unwilling to
normalize ties. On the contrary, Ankara will genuinely be looking to
use this occasion to break the ice with Paris, which could also
relieve the deadlock in Turkey's EU accession process. But Ankara may
choose to wait and see to what degree France's new president, François
Hollande, will insist on delivering on his promise to revive the law
criminalizing the denial of Armenians' claims of genocide, despite the
verdict of the French Constitutional Council.
It would be naive to expect Hollande to officially state that he will
drop the matter. But a message to Ankara, that this issue will not be
a priority, coupled with a clear intent to improve relations with
Turkey, might suffice for the Turkish government to ease ties.
I wouldn't be surprised to see a very positive message of
congratulation sent from Çankaya, which will be answered with equal
warmth. This could be followed by a brief meeting between Turkish
President Abdullah Gül and Hollande during the NATO summit in Chicago
at the end of May.
So far the messages Hollande is sending leave room for optimism.
Following the decision of the Council, Hollande promised to take up
the issue of penalizing the denial of Armenian genocide claims, but
emphasized that he would not be in a rush. Interestingly, in his
statement he also addressed the Turks of France, saying they were
wrong to think that the decision was directed against them.
This, according to Turkish and French experts, is the first time a
high-level French politician has openly talked about the sensitivities
of Turks living in France. For that, we can thank Sarkozy (as well as
the Armenian diaspora in France), for it was his last-minute
initiative to court Armenian votes that mobilized Turks living in
France. Apparently many Turks with French citizenship rushed to their
municipalities to register to vote. What's more, they have also been
very active in the Socialist Party ranks, so much so that in the
legislative elections set to take place in a month's time, more
Socialist candidates, supported by a Turkish base, are expected to
enter Parliament. They will be sensitive to their Turkish electorate,
and this will in turn become an additional factor determining
Hollande's stance on the Armenian issue.
Experts believe that it will be legally difficult for Hollande to
challenge the decision of the constitutional council. But independent
of that issue, the Armenian question will continue to be a headache in
Turkish-French relations, because the Armenian Diaspora in France will
commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 1915 tragedy under the the
new Socialist government. However, despite the shadow of the Armenian
issue there is room for optimism. First, the relationship will be
cleared of the hostile rhetoric both sides have been using recently.
And second, there is a high probability that Hollande will reverse
Sarkozy's decision to suspend negotiations on five of Turkey's EU
accession chapters. We should note that EU ambassador to Turkey Jean
Maurice Ripert is a close friend of Hollande. That said, Turkey should
be prepared for more vocal criticism from Paris on fundamental human
rights issues.
May/08/2012
May 8 2012
Why Turkey should be thankful to Sarkozy?
by Barcin Yinanc
Although Turkey, both at the level of the state establishment and the
people in the street, is happy to say goodbye to Nicolas Sarkozy, the
government may not immediately reverse its decision to partially
suspend bilateral ties with France, which was made in response to
Sarkozy's obsession with stigmatizing Turks using the Armenian issue.
This is not to say that the Turkish government is unwilling to
normalize ties. On the contrary, Ankara will genuinely be looking to
use this occasion to break the ice with Paris, which could also
relieve the deadlock in Turkey's EU accession process. But Ankara may
choose to wait and see to what degree France's new president, François
Hollande, will insist on delivering on his promise to revive the law
criminalizing the denial of Armenians' claims of genocide, despite the
verdict of the French Constitutional Council.
It would be naive to expect Hollande to officially state that he will
drop the matter. But a message to Ankara, that this issue will not be
a priority, coupled with a clear intent to improve relations with
Turkey, might suffice for the Turkish government to ease ties.
I wouldn't be surprised to see a very positive message of
congratulation sent from Çankaya, which will be answered with equal
warmth. This could be followed by a brief meeting between Turkish
President Abdullah Gül and Hollande during the NATO summit in Chicago
at the end of May.
So far the messages Hollande is sending leave room for optimism.
Following the decision of the Council, Hollande promised to take up
the issue of penalizing the denial of Armenian genocide claims, but
emphasized that he would not be in a rush. Interestingly, in his
statement he also addressed the Turks of France, saying they were
wrong to think that the decision was directed against them.
This, according to Turkish and French experts, is the first time a
high-level French politician has openly talked about the sensitivities
of Turks living in France. For that, we can thank Sarkozy (as well as
the Armenian diaspora in France), for it was his last-minute
initiative to court Armenian votes that mobilized Turks living in
France. Apparently many Turks with French citizenship rushed to their
municipalities to register to vote. What's more, they have also been
very active in the Socialist Party ranks, so much so that in the
legislative elections set to take place in a month's time, more
Socialist candidates, supported by a Turkish base, are expected to
enter Parliament. They will be sensitive to their Turkish electorate,
and this will in turn become an additional factor determining
Hollande's stance on the Armenian issue.
Experts believe that it will be legally difficult for Hollande to
challenge the decision of the constitutional council. But independent
of that issue, the Armenian question will continue to be a headache in
Turkish-French relations, because the Armenian Diaspora in France will
commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 1915 tragedy under the the
new Socialist government. However, despite the shadow of the Armenian
issue there is room for optimism. First, the relationship will be
cleared of the hostile rhetoric both sides have been using recently.
And second, there is a high probability that Hollande will reverse
Sarkozy's decision to suspend negotiations on five of Turkey's EU
accession chapters. We should note that EU ambassador to Turkey Jean
Maurice Ripert is a close friend of Hollande. That said, Turkey should
be prepared for more vocal criticism from Paris on fundamental human
rights issues.
May/08/2012