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TURKEY ACCUSES FRANCE OF RACISM
New Europe
http://www.neurope.eu/article/turkey-accuses-france-racism-over-genocide-denial-law
Jan 24 2012
On 23 January, the French Senate approved a law criminalising the
denial of genocide committed by Turkey over Armenians from 1915 to
1916, making it punishable by as much as a year's imprisonment and a
~@45,000 fine. Turkey rejected it as politicisation of history and a
"racist" attack on freedom of speech.
The bill had already sparked discontent in Turkey when it was first
adopted by the lower house of the French parliament in December 2011.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu lobbied against the
legislation by summoning executives of Credit Agricole SA and Groupama
SA, but with no result.
Turkey threatened a new round of sanctions and a further deterioration
in relations. Davutoglu "strongly condemned this decision" in an
emailed statement and pledged to fight it on "every platform". He
accused France of acting on a sensitive issue without comprehending
"the essence of the matter", or understanding Turkey and the Turkish
people.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan addressed the parliament
on 24 January with constraint and patience. He announced that Turkey
would wait to see if the law is ratified by French President Nicolas
Sarkozy before taking further steps.
After the December vote, Turkey acted immediately and introduced
sanctions to France and started an aggressive (yet somewhat
counterproductive) campaign of accusations of various 'genocides'
committed by French colonising forces, especially in Africa.
This moderated approach, combined with French Foreign Minister
Juppe's statement that the vote was "inopportune" may signify there
are some indications that the bill might not be immediately ratified
by President Sarkozy, though he is expected to sign it into law by
the end of February.
Erdogan did accuse France of pursuing "a kind of racism" and called
the bill a discrimination, and attack on the freedom of expression.
Erdogan reiterated that history should not be decided upon by
politicians in parliaments and that the bill is contrary to European
and French values alike.
Turkey has already decided to freeze all political and military actions
with France and the prime minister accused the French President Nicolas
Sarkozy and his centre-right UMP party of using this issue to rally
public support before all-important presidential elections in May.
"It's incomprehensible for Sarkozy to push a verdict on a matter
historians should decide upon, just for his own political purposes,"
Erdogan said on 23 January, just before the vote in the French Senate.
Sarkozy is well known for his lasting opposition to Turkey's membership
in the EU. French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe urged Turkey to remain
calm following the vote. "Turkey and France need each other to work
together on many issues," he said.
Some 20 states including Greece, Canada and Russia recognise the
ethnic cleansing of Armenians as genocide. Armenians claim that 1.5
million ethnic Armenians were systemically killed in couple of years,
while Turkey, on its part maintains that it was an armed conflict
with Armenian groups which joined the invading Russian army.
From: Baghdasarian
New Europe
http://www.neurope.eu/article/turkey-accuses-france-racism-over-genocide-denial-law
Jan 24 2012
On 23 January, the French Senate approved a law criminalising the
denial of genocide committed by Turkey over Armenians from 1915 to
1916, making it punishable by as much as a year's imprisonment and a
~@45,000 fine. Turkey rejected it as politicisation of history and a
"racist" attack on freedom of speech.
The bill had already sparked discontent in Turkey when it was first
adopted by the lower house of the French parliament in December 2011.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu lobbied against the
legislation by summoning executives of Credit Agricole SA and Groupama
SA, but with no result.
Turkey threatened a new round of sanctions and a further deterioration
in relations. Davutoglu "strongly condemned this decision" in an
emailed statement and pledged to fight it on "every platform". He
accused France of acting on a sensitive issue without comprehending
"the essence of the matter", or understanding Turkey and the Turkish
people.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan addressed the parliament
on 24 January with constraint and patience. He announced that Turkey
would wait to see if the law is ratified by French President Nicolas
Sarkozy before taking further steps.
After the December vote, Turkey acted immediately and introduced
sanctions to France and started an aggressive (yet somewhat
counterproductive) campaign of accusations of various 'genocides'
committed by French colonising forces, especially in Africa.
This moderated approach, combined with French Foreign Minister
Juppe's statement that the vote was "inopportune" may signify there
are some indications that the bill might not be immediately ratified
by President Sarkozy, though he is expected to sign it into law by
the end of February.
Erdogan did accuse France of pursuing "a kind of racism" and called
the bill a discrimination, and attack on the freedom of expression.
Erdogan reiterated that history should not be decided upon by
politicians in parliaments and that the bill is contrary to European
and French values alike.
Turkey has already decided to freeze all political and military actions
with France and the prime minister accused the French President Nicolas
Sarkozy and his centre-right UMP party of using this issue to rally
public support before all-important presidential elections in May.
"It's incomprehensible for Sarkozy to push a verdict on a matter
historians should decide upon, just for his own political purposes,"
Erdogan said on 23 January, just before the vote in the French Senate.
Sarkozy is well known for his lasting opposition to Turkey's membership
in the EU. French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe urged Turkey to remain
calm following the vote. "Turkey and France need each other to work
together on many issues," he said.
Some 20 states including Greece, Canada and Russia recognise the
ethnic cleansing of Armenians as genocide. Armenians claim that 1.5
million ethnic Armenians were systemically killed in couple of years,
while Turkey, on its part maintains that it was an armed conflict
with Armenian groups which joined the invading Russian army.
From: Baghdasarian