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TURKEY VOWS TO RETALIATE AGAINST FRENCH GENOCIDE LAW
NASDAQ
http://www.nasdaq.com/article/turkey-vows-to-retaliate-against-french-genocide-law-20120124-00380
Jan 24 2012
ISTANBUL -(Dow Jones)- Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on
Tuesday denounced French lawmakers as racist and vowed to retaliate
after they approved a bill making it a crime to deny that the 1915
massacre of Armenians constituted genocide.
With relations between Ankara and Paris already strained, his comments
raise the prospect of a serious rift between two North Atlantic Treaty
Organization allies.
Addressing lawmakers of his governing AK party in Ankara, Erdogan
did not say what the government's reprisals would be, but the local
press cited several options. Ankara could permanently recall its
ambassador, stop French companies bidding for government contracts
and close Turkish waters and airspace to French ships and planes.
"This is a racist decision. This is killing freedom of thought. We
won't let France gain credibility through this because their decision
means nothing to us" the prime minister said.
Referring to the measures as "sanctions," he said they would be
disclosed " step by step."
"We will share our action plan based on developments," he said.
The French Senate overwhelmingly approved the bill late Monday. It
still requires President Nicolas Sarkozy's signature to become law.
EU-candidate country Turkey can't take economic action against France
without risking a violation of its membership in the World Trade
Organization and its customs-union agreement with Europe. But the
dispute could cost France profitable bilateral business contracts
and would fuel diplomatic tension as Turkey takes an increasingly
influential role in the Middle East.
Immediately after the bill was passed, Turkey's foreign ministry
accused France of flouting international law and pledged to "take
every step" to counter the "irresponsible" decision. "In case of
the completion of the finalization process for the law, we will not
hesitate to implement, as we deem appropriate, the measures that we
have considered in advance," the Turkish foreign ministry said.
Under the legislation, anyone who denies genocide, crimes against
humanity and war crimes recognized by French law could face up to a
year in prison and a EUR45,000($58,143) fine.
The bill does not specifically refer to the estimated 1.5 million
Armenians killed under the Ottoman Turks, but France recognizes only
those deaths and the Holocaust as genocides. Denying the Holocaust
was already illegal in France.
Ankara reacted furiously when the lower house passed the bill last
month, withdrawing its ambassador from Paris and freezing political
and military relations.
Armenia praised the move, stressing that the day would "be written
in gold in the history of friendship between the Armenian and French
peoples, but also in the annals of the history of the protection of
human rights worldwide."
About 500,000 French citizens claim Armenian descent, the largest
such population in Europe.
-By Joe Parkinson, Dow Jones Newswires
NASDAQ
http://www.nasdaq.com/article/turkey-vows-to-retaliate-against-french-genocide-law-20120124-00380
Jan 24 2012
ISTANBUL -(Dow Jones)- Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on
Tuesday denounced French lawmakers as racist and vowed to retaliate
after they approved a bill making it a crime to deny that the 1915
massacre of Armenians constituted genocide.
With relations between Ankara and Paris already strained, his comments
raise the prospect of a serious rift between two North Atlantic Treaty
Organization allies.
Addressing lawmakers of his governing AK party in Ankara, Erdogan
did not say what the government's reprisals would be, but the local
press cited several options. Ankara could permanently recall its
ambassador, stop French companies bidding for government contracts
and close Turkish waters and airspace to French ships and planes.
"This is a racist decision. This is killing freedom of thought. We
won't let France gain credibility through this because their decision
means nothing to us" the prime minister said.
Referring to the measures as "sanctions," he said they would be
disclosed " step by step."
"We will share our action plan based on developments," he said.
The French Senate overwhelmingly approved the bill late Monday. It
still requires President Nicolas Sarkozy's signature to become law.
EU-candidate country Turkey can't take economic action against France
without risking a violation of its membership in the World Trade
Organization and its customs-union agreement with Europe. But the
dispute could cost France profitable bilateral business contracts
and would fuel diplomatic tension as Turkey takes an increasingly
influential role in the Middle East.
Immediately after the bill was passed, Turkey's foreign ministry
accused France of flouting international law and pledged to "take
every step" to counter the "irresponsible" decision. "In case of
the completion of the finalization process for the law, we will not
hesitate to implement, as we deem appropriate, the measures that we
have considered in advance," the Turkish foreign ministry said.
Under the legislation, anyone who denies genocide, crimes against
humanity and war crimes recognized by French law could face up to a
year in prison and a EUR45,000($58,143) fine.
The bill does not specifically refer to the estimated 1.5 million
Armenians killed under the Ottoman Turks, but France recognizes only
those deaths and the Holocaust as genocides. Denying the Holocaust
was already illegal in France.
Ankara reacted furiously when the lower house passed the bill last
month, withdrawing its ambassador from Paris and freezing political
and military relations.
Armenia praised the move, stressing that the day would "be written
in gold in the history of friendship between the Armenian and French
peoples, but also in the annals of the history of the protection of
human rights worldwide."
About 500,000 French citizens claim Armenian descent, the largest
such population in Europe.
-By Joe Parkinson, Dow Jones Newswires