Tweet
DELICATE TIME FOR TURKISH FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Today's Zaman
Jan 25 2012
Turkey
Debates on a French bill to criminalize the denial of officially
recognized genocides, including the Armenian genocide in 1915, have
started again as the French Senate approved the bill on Monday night.
However, Turkish columnists agree that Turkey should not react so
strongly to the bill as Turkey is already suffering from cooling
relations with other countries, and it should be very careful before
taking any major step with regard to foreign affairs.
Radikal's Cengiz Candar notes that even though France's move is very
unjust, Turkey, as the country most frequently found guilty in the
European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), is in no position to attack
France based on a restriction of the freedom of expression. Moreover,
by looking at statements and verbal attacks on France including those
made by politicians and the prime minister, we see that Turkey's
attitude seems a "defense of the right to deny genocides" instead
of "defending the human right of freedom of expression." Both of
the rights are essential for people, and France is in the wrong by
hampering these, according to Candar. However, he adds that there are
more reasonable ways to react rather than considering the French bill
an attack on Turkey or taking it as a matter of pride. Candar, then,
points to the deterioration of once smooth relations between Turkey
and countries such as Israel, Syria and Iraq -- with its current
Prime Minister al-Maliki -- and says that it is clear that we are in
an extraordinary period with respect to foreign affairs and that we
should watch our moves more carefully from now on.
Defining the genocide denial bill as a part of French President Nicolas
Sarkozy's policy, Hurriyet's Taha Akyol says Turkey should not put
its relations with France at risk because of this policy. Akyol
underlines Sarkozy's bad image in the eyes of other countries,
pointing to a headline in 2010 in The Economist: "Nicolas Sarkozy:
The incredible shrinking president," and the Oct. 4, 2010 edition of
Newsweek in which John Rosenthal compared Sarkozy with Jean-Marie Le
Pen, a right-wing extremist leader in France who has a long history
of anti-Semitism and racism, and with Holland's Geert Wilders,
who has made headlines with his Islamophobic statements. In light
of this view that argues for Sarkozy's hatred towards Islam, Akyol
once again says that as Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said,
Turkey should wait patiently and not get carried away with the bill.
On the other hand, Fehmi Koru of the Star daily points to
a contradiction in the genocide denial bill, saying: "I cannot
understand the reason why France would take up a leadership role in
defending so intensely that the Armenians were subjected to genocide.
Was France also involved in the events of 1915? Or was the right
to have the final word on the Armenian genocide issue given to
France? It is true that about 500,000 Armenians live in France, but
also there is a country called Armenia where more Armenians live. If
an initiative concerning the Armenian genocide issue should be taken
up, then shouldn't they be the ones to take it up?"
Today's Zaman
Jan 25 2012
Turkey
Debates on a French bill to criminalize the denial of officially
recognized genocides, including the Armenian genocide in 1915, have
started again as the French Senate approved the bill on Monday night.
However, Turkish columnists agree that Turkey should not react so
strongly to the bill as Turkey is already suffering from cooling
relations with other countries, and it should be very careful before
taking any major step with regard to foreign affairs.
Radikal's Cengiz Candar notes that even though France's move is very
unjust, Turkey, as the country most frequently found guilty in the
European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), is in no position to attack
France based on a restriction of the freedom of expression. Moreover,
by looking at statements and verbal attacks on France including those
made by politicians and the prime minister, we see that Turkey's
attitude seems a "defense of the right to deny genocides" instead
of "defending the human right of freedom of expression." Both of
the rights are essential for people, and France is in the wrong by
hampering these, according to Candar. However, he adds that there are
more reasonable ways to react rather than considering the French bill
an attack on Turkey or taking it as a matter of pride. Candar, then,
points to the deterioration of once smooth relations between Turkey
and countries such as Israel, Syria and Iraq -- with its current
Prime Minister al-Maliki -- and says that it is clear that we are in
an extraordinary period with respect to foreign affairs and that we
should watch our moves more carefully from now on.
Defining the genocide denial bill as a part of French President Nicolas
Sarkozy's policy, Hurriyet's Taha Akyol says Turkey should not put
its relations with France at risk because of this policy. Akyol
underlines Sarkozy's bad image in the eyes of other countries,
pointing to a headline in 2010 in The Economist: "Nicolas Sarkozy:
The incredible shrinking president," and the Oct. 4, 2010 edition of
Newsweek in which John Rosenthal compared Sarkozy with Jean-Marie Le
Pen, a right-wing extremist leader in France who has a long history
of anti-Semitism and racism, and with Holland's Geert Wilders,
who has made headlines with his Islamophobic statements. In light
of this view that argues for Sarkozy's hatred towards Islam, Akyol
once again says that as Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said,
Turkey should wait patiently and not get carried away with the bill.
On the other hand, Fehmi Koru of the Star daily points to
a contradiction in the genocide denial bill, saying: "I cannot
understand the reason why France would take up a leadership role in
defending so intensely that the Armenians were subjected to genocide.
Was France also involved in the events of 1915? Or was the right
to have the final word on the Armenian genocide issue given to
France? It is true that about 500,000 Armenians live in France, but
also there is a country called Armenia where more Armenians live. If
an initiative concerning the Armenian genocide issue should be taken
up, then shouldn't they be the ones to take it up?"