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IS ANOTHER FRENCH BETRAYAL IN THE OFFING?
Opinion | September 26, 2012 2:01 pm
http://www.mirrorspectator.com/2012/09/26/is-another-french-betrayal-in-the-offing/
By Edmond Y. Azadian
Armenian culture has been favorably impacted by French culture,
especially in the West. Armenians have recognized that fact and have
been appreciative of the influence, which dates back many centuries.
There is an inherent affinity between the two nations, as far as
culture is concerned. But when it comes to politics, that special
relationship disappears. Armenians have incorrectly assumed that
the cultural affinity is a substitute for political support or
cooperation, and they have been disappointed bitterly time and again.
The Armenian-French relations go back to the Middle Ages when French
conquerors invaded the Middle East with the Crusaders to wrench the
Holy Land away from Muslims and claim it in the name of Christianity.
The Armenian principalities in Cilicia became accessories to those
European imperialistic invasions, ultimately to their own detriment;
when the Crusades failed or faded, the Armenians were left to their
own devices, unable to defend their kingdom.
Indeed, when the Egyptian Mamluk rulers overran Cilicia in 1315 and
kidnapped its King Leo VI, ending a 300-year-old kingdom, neither
the Crusaders nor the French came to defend their Armenian allies.
Granted, France belatedly obliged to pay a ransom to the Mamluks to
buy the king's freedom, hosting him in France until his death, mainly
because they considered King Leo VI Lousignan to be of French lineage.
The most blatant betrayal was in the 20th century, again in Cilicia.
The Allies - especially the French - during World War I recruited
some 5,000 Armenian volunteers as part of the Eastern Legion, to fight
the most crucial battles of Arara, in Palestine, promising home rule
in Cilicia to the Armenians under a French protectorate. But when
the Ottoman army collapsed and Cilicia was liberated, the Armenian
volunteers were disarmed and the French government brokered a deal
with the emerging Kemalist movement behind the back of the Cilician
Armenians who had returned to their homes after the deportations of
1915. The French abandoned Cilicia and its population - literally
in the middle of the night in November 1921 - and retreated in a
cowardly manner.
When former French President Nicholas Sarkozy moved through the French
Senate the law criminalizing the denial of the Armenian Genocide,
almost identical to the Gaysot law criminalizing the denial of the
Jewish Holocaust, Armenians were tempted to believe that finally
the French were making amends for their monumental betrayal of the
Armenians in Cilicia. But that turned out to be another deception,
since Mr. Sarkozy was slow to sign the resolution into law, while
the opposition was recruiting members of the parliament to take the
resolution to the Constitutional Court.
Having full knowledge of the gathering storm, he failed to use his
prerogative before the measure was brought to the Constitutional Court,
which rendered an unfavorable decision. Mr. Sarkozy did not put his
money where his mouth was.
Enter candidate Francois Hollande - the prospect seemed more promising
because he had pledged to use such a tight legal framework that the
resolution would become fail proof.
The pledge is still on the table but there are already ominous signs
that his pledge may not go beyond election rhetoric. This column had
already made reference to an interview in the French magazine Express
by the new French Foreign Minister Laurant Fabius who stated that the
newly-elected Hollande was searching for a way to balance a policy
of accommodating Turkey while keeping his pledge to the large and
loud French-Armenian community.
These days Mr. Hollande and his prime minister are busy dedicating
museums and monuments throughout France. On September 21, he was in
Drancy, a city north of Paris, which was the site of the major transit
camp for Jews being deported to death camps. "Our work is no longer
about establishing the truth," said Mr. Hollande at the Drancy Shoah
memorial. "Today, our work is to transmit. That is the spirit of this
memorial. Transmission - there resides the future of remembrance."
In 2005, a larger Holocaust Museum had opened in 2005 in central
Paris. A new memorial is being inaugurated at the center of the Cite
de la Muette. Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault inaugurated a similar
memorial in Aix-en-Provence last month.
All these memorials demonstrate that the new French president and his
government are sensitive to human suffering and loss of life through
the organized actions of brutal rulers. The only thing remains to be
seen if the Armenian losses are also counted as human suffering.
Mr. Hollande went further than his predecessors in defending the
dignity of human life; former President Francois Mitterrand had
acknowledged a general French role in the detentions and deportations
of the Jews during World War II, whereas President Jacques Chirac had
taken a step further in a speech in 1995 acknowledging "collective
wrongdoing." Mr. Hollande went all the way by admitting "a crime
committed by France."
Most French attribute that crime to Marshall Petin, whose government
in Vichy collaborated with the occupying Nazi forces.
(Incidentally, several French-Armenians were leaders and/or fearless
members of the French Underground battling the Vichy government and
Nazis. The most famous in that group is Missak Manouchian, who led
the legendary eponymous group.)
Besides commemorating Jewish losses in France, Mr. Hollande has
also demonstrated moral courage to take positive action; indeed,
last August he stripped the British fashion designer and former
creative director of Dior, John Galliano, of the Legion of Honor he
had received in 2009. Mr. Galliano was found guilty in 2011 of making
anti-Semitic remarks.
All these actions indicate that we are dealing with a statesman
of solid moral fiber when it comes to upholding human dignity. The
question remains if those qualities are applied selectively to one
group only.
A recent roundtable discussion in Paris casts some doubt, whether
those principles are impacted by political tides or considerations.
The discussions were held in Paris by Bosphorous University to analyze
the law criminalizing the Armenian Genocide.
Participants of the roundtable included Elizabeth Guigou, president
of the Foreign Relations Committee of the French Parliament; Jacques
Lang, former education culture minister of France, and former foreign
minister of Turkey, Yasar Yakis.
Any symposium or roundtable discussion may be confined to the level of
academic discourse, but when the participants are current legislators
or former statesmen, the format takes a different dimension, with
serious political ramifications. Ms. Guigou has stated that the
Constitutional Court has considered the law criminalizing the Genocide
denial without legal foundation. She continued her statement by adding:
"Although President Hollande is very sensitive to the issue of this
draft law, it is very improbable that he may take a new initiative
since the Constitutional Court has refuted its legal premise." Mr. Lang
also endorsed the same view. The Turkish representative cautioned
against the deterioration of French-Turkish relations. Then, he
magnanimously added that the law not only damages French-Turkish
relations, but will also jeopardize Armenian-Turkish relations.
Turkologist Hagop Chakerian, reporting about the above roundtable
discussion, in the daily Azg of Yerevan concluded by stating:
"The law may damage French-Turkish relations, but it cannot damage
Armenian-Turkish relations, because there are none."
Since his election, Mr. Hollande has yet to address his pledge on the
Genocide law. But all these developments and statements do not augur
well for the prospects of adopting the law. If it is a crime to deny
the Holocaust in France there is no easy way to reason in any other
fashion, that it is a crime to deny the Armenian Genocide.
Only political expediency, rather than any legal premise can derail
the law against denying the Armenian Genocide.
Only time will tell how extensive Mr. Hollande's moral fortitude is.
Perhaps it is not fair to jump to early conclusions, but all
indications point to a French betrayal in the making, once again.
Opinion | September 26, 2012 2:01 pm
http://www.mirrorspectator.com/2012/09/26/is-another-french-betrayal-in-the-offing/
By Edmond Y. Azadian
Armenian culture has been favorably impacted by French culture,
especially in the West. Armenians have recognized that fact and have
been appreciative of the influence, which dates back many centuries.
There is an inherent affinity between the two nations, as far as
culture is concerned. But when it comes to politics, that special
relationship disappears. Armenians have incorrectly assumed that
the cultural affinity is a substitute for political support or
cooperation, and they have been disappointed bitterly time and again.
The Armenian-French relations go back to the Middle Ages when French
conquerors invaded the Middle East with the Crusaders to wrench the
Holy Land away from Muslims and claim it in the name of Christianity.
The Armenian principalities in Cilicia became accessories to those
European imperialistic invasions, ultimately to their own detriment;
when the Crusades failed or faded, the Armenians were left to their
own devices, unable to defend their kingdom.
Indeed, when the Egyptian Mamluk rulers overran Cilicia in 1315 and
kidnapped its King Leo VI, ending a 300-year-old kingdom, neither
the Crusaders nor the French came to defend their Armenian allies.
Granted, France belatedly obliged to pay a ransom to the Mamluks to
buy the king's freedom, hosting him in France until his death, mainly
because they considered King Leo VI Lousignan to be of French lineage.
The most blatant betrayal was in the 20th century, again in Cilicia.
The Allies - especially the French - during World War I recruited
some 5,000 Armenian volunteers as part of the Eastern Legion, to fight
the most crucial battles of Arara, in Palestine, promising home rule
in Cilicia to the Armenians under a French protectorate. But when
the Ottoman army collapsed and Cilicia was liberated, the Armenian
volunteers were disarmed and the French government brokered a deal
with the emerging Kemalist movement behind the back of the Cilician
Armenians who had returned to their homes after the deportations of
1915. The French abandoned Cilicia and its population - literally
in the middle of the night in November 1921 - and retreated in a
cowardly manner.
When former French President Nicholas Sarkozy moved through the French
Senate the law criminalizing the denial of the Armenian Genocide,
almost identical to the Gaysot law criminalizing the denial of the
Jewish Holocaust, Armenians were tempted to believe that finally
the French were making amends for their monumental betrayal of the
Armenians in Cilicia. But that turned out to be another deception,
since Mr. Sarkozy was slow to sign the resolution into law, while
the opposition was recruiting members of the parliament to take the
resolution to the Constitutional Court.
Having full knowledge of the gathering storm, he failed to use his
prerogative before the measure was brought to the Constitutional Court,
which rendered an unfavorable decision. Mr. Sarkozy did not put his
money where his mouth was.
Enter candidate Francois Hollande - the prospect seemed more promising
because he had pledged to use such a tight legal framework that the
resolution would become fail proof.
The pledge is still on the table but there are already ominous signs
that his pledge may not go beyond election rhetoric. This column had
already made reference to an interview in the French magazine Express
by the new French Foreign Minister Laurant Fabius who stated that the
newly-elected Hollande was searching for a way to balance a policy
of accommodating Turkey while keeping his pledge to the large and
loud French-Armenian community.
These days Mr. Hollande and his prime minister are busy dedicating
museums and monuments throughout France. On September 21, he was in
Drancy, a city north of Paris, which was the site of the major transit
camp for Jews being deported to death camps. "Our work is no longer
about establishing the truth," said Mr. Hollande at the Drancy Shoah
memorial. "Today, our work is to transmit. That is the spirit of this
memorial. Transmission - there resides the future of remembrance."
In 2005, a larger Holocaust Museum had opened in 2005 in central
Paris. A new memorial is being inaugurated at the center of the Cite
de la Muette. Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault inaugurated a similar
memorial in Aix-en-Provence last month.
All these memorials demonstrate that the new French president and his
government are sensitive to human suffering and loss of life through
the organized actions of brutal rulers. The only thing remains to be
seen if the Armenian losses are also counted as human suffering.
Mr. Hollande went further than his predecessors in defending the
dignity of human life; former President Francois Mitterrand had
acknowledged a general French role in the detentions and deportations
of the Jews during World War II, whereas President Jacques Chirac had
taken a step further in a speech in 1995 acknowledging "collective
wrongdoing." Mr. Hollande went all the way by admitting "a crime
committed by France."
Most French attribute that crime to Marshall Petin, whose government
in Vichy collaborated with the occupying Nazi forces.
(Incidentally, several French-Armenians were leaders and/or fearless
members of the French Underground battling the Vichy government and
Nazis. The most famous in that group is Missak Manouchian, who led
the legendary eponymous group.)
Besides commemorating Jewish losses in France, Mr. Hollande has
also demonstrated moral courage to take positive action; indeed,
last August he stripped the British fashion designer and former
creative director of Dior, John Galliano, of the Legion of Honor he
had received in 2009. Mr. Galliano was found guilty in 2011 of making
anti-Semitic remarks.
All these actions indicate that we are dealing with a statesman
of solid moral fiber when it comes to upholding human dignity. The
question remains if those qualities are applied selectively to one
group only.
A recent roundtable discussion in Paris casts some doubt, whether
those principles are impacted by political tides or considerations.
The discussions were held in Paris by Bosphorous University to analyze
the law criminalizing the Armenian Genocide.
Participants of the roundtable included Elizabeth Guigou, president
of the Foreign Relations Committee of the French Parliament; Jacques
Lang, former education culture minister of France, and former foreign
minister of Turkey, Yasar Yakis.
Any symposium or roundtable discussion may be confined to the level of
academic discourse, but when the participants are current legislators
or former statesmen, the format takes a different dimension, with
serious political ramifications. Ms. Guigou has stated that the
Constitutional Court has considered the law criminalizing the Genocide
denial without legal foundation. She continued her statement by adding:
"Although President Hollande is very sensitive to the issue of this
draft law, it is very improbable that he may take a new initiative
since the Constitutional Court has refuted its legal premise." Mr. Lang
also endorsed the same view. The Turkish representative cautioned
against the deterioration of French-Turkish relations. Then, he
magnanimously added that the law not only damages French-Turkish
relations, but will also jeopardize Armenian-Turkish relations.
Turkologist Hagop Chakerian, reporting about the above roundtable
discussion, in the daily Azg of Yerevan concluded by stating:
"The law may damage French-Turkish relations, but it cannot damage
Armenian-Turkish relations, because there are none."
Since his election, Mr. Hollande has yet to address his pledge on the
Genocide law. But all these developments and statements do not augur
well for the prospects of adopting the law. If it is a crime to deny
the Holocaust in France there is no easy way to reason in any other
fashion, that it is a crime to deny the Armenian Genocide.
Only political expediency, rather than any legal premise can derail
the law against denying the Armenian Genocide.
Only time will tell how extensive Mr. Hollande's moral fortitude is.
Perhaps it is not fair to jump to early conclusions, but all
indications point to a French betrayal in the making, once again.