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PROFESSOR'S DAUGHTER FORCED OUT OF FRENCH LOCAL POLLS
Today's Zaman
Jan 29 2008
Turkey
A Turkish candidate standing in French local elections has been
forced to withdraw her candidacy amid pressure from Armenian groups
who wanted her to publicly recognize Armenian claims of genocide in
the final years of the Ottoman Empire.
The candidate, a member of the Greens Party, was the daughter of
Professor Baskýn Oran, who himself was a candidate for Parliament
in Turkey's July 22 elections, Today's Zaman has learned. Professor
Oran, a liberal, campaigns in Turkey for reconciliation with Armenians
and has passionately called for punishment for those who are behind
the January 2007 murder of Turkish Armenian journalist Hrant Dink in
Ýstanbul. Sýrma Oran, who has been living in France for a long time,
had to withdraw her candidacy for the city council in Villeurbaunne
after she had been pressed by Mayor Jean-Paul Bret to visit an Armenian
"genocide" monument in Lyon and make a public statement backing the
genocide charges.
Bret, a politician from the French Socialist Party, which is
cooperating with the Greens in the local elections slated for March,
is known to have close ties with the Armenian diaspora in France. He
was the chair of the French-Armenian caucus in the French National
Assembly during his term as a lawmaker. French news reports said
he had forced Oran to make a public statement backing the alleged
genocide after an Armenian member of the city council threatened to
resign if she is elected.
Under pressure from Bret, Oran met with a group consisting of
representatives from local Armenian groups and the politicians from
the Socialist and Greens parties in a closed-door meeting and assured
them that she believed that an Armenian genocide had happened in
eastern Anatolia during the final years of World War I, as Armenians
claim. But she later came to the conclusion that she would have to
deal with constant problems due to her ethnic identity as a Turk
even if she were elected to the Villeurbaunne City Council and thus
decided to withdraw her candidacy after she had been forced to make
the same statements publicly, sources told Today's Zaman.
Beatrice Vessilier, a representative of the Greens in Villeurbanne,
speaking with Today's Zaman, expressed her deep disappointment over
the incident. "None of us expected the issue to come to this point.
I'm so sorry -- also in regards to the political ethic," Vessilier
said. She also emphasized that Oran withdrew her candidacy at her
own initiative because she didn't want to be on the political agenda
solely related to this issue if elected. "She [Oran] didn't want to be
reduced to her ethnic roots as an elected person and to be constantly
annoyed because of that," Vessilier added.
Vessilier said that Bret's demand was "not easy to be fulfilled"
by Oran, while describing Bret as "extremely engaged concerning the
genocide issue."
Richard Llung, Bret's election director, defended Bret's stance,
saying that nobody should look for "courtesy" when the issue is
politics. "Every politician represents himself, but also represents
the society that he belongs to. This treatment ... may well be very
brutal. However, politics is not a profession that has courtesy in it,"
Llung said.
Ali Gedikoðlu, chairman of the France-based Cojep Platform -- a
multicultural youth association established by Turks in France --
said the incident in Villeurbanne was not an exception, as young
politicians who are members of the Cojep have been constantly pressured
in districts where there is a dominant Armenian population.
The Socialist Party, which had in the past gained huge support
from Turks, has gradually lost this support due to these kinds of
discriminatory policies, Gedikoðlu added. "I'm calling on Armenians
to act in a responsible manner. Nonetheless, I'm also calling on
the Turkish community who has left our daughter [Oran] alone in this
struggle. The indifference of the Turkish community encourages this
kind of inappropriate treatment," Gedikoðlu said.
Relations between Turkey and France were strained after the French
parliament approved a bill criminalizing the denial of the alleged
genocide in 2006. The bill, backed by the Socialist Party, drew ire
from Ankara, which said relations had sustained a heavy blow with
the law. France's 400,000-strong Armenian community constitutes a
formidable voter bloc. Former French leaders said that Turkey must
accept the alleged genocide to become a member of the EU, while the
country's current president, Nicolas Sarkozy, is against Turkish
entry under any condition.
Ankara rejects outright the Armenian claims of genocide and calls for
joint research of the events of the years of World War I, a proposal
that has not been welcomed by Armenia.
--Boundary_(ID_EWSyEml71B3G6oCfAE6jKQ)--
Today's Zaman
Jan 29 2008
Turkey
A Turkish candidate standing in French local elections has been
forced to withdraw her candidacy amid pressure from Armenian groups
who wanted her to publicly recognize Armenian claims of genocide in
the final years of the Ottoman Empire.
The candidate, a member of the Greens Party, was the daughter of
Professor Baskýn Oran, who himself was a candidate for Parliament
in Turkey's July 22 elections, Today's Zaman has learned. Professor
Oran, a liberal, campaigns in Turkey for reconciliation with Armenians
and has passionately called for punishment for those who are behind
the January 2007 murder of Turkish Armenian journalist Hrant Dink in
Ýstanbul. Sýrma Oran, who has been living in France for a long time,
had to withdraw her candidacy for the city council in Villeurbaunne
after she had been pressed by Mayor Jean-Paul Bret to visit an Armenian
"genocide" monument in Lyon and make a public statement backing the
genocide charges.
Bret, a politician from the French Socialist Party, which is
cooperating with the Greens in the local elections slated for March,
is known to have close ties with the Armenian diaspora in France. He
was the chair of the French-Armenian caucus in the French National
Assembly during his term as a lawmaker. French news reports said
he had forced Oran to make a public statement backing the alleged
genocide after an Armenian member of the city council threatened to
resign if she is elected.
Under pressure from Bret, Oran met with a group consisting of
representatives from local Armenian groups and the politicians from
the Socialist and Greens parties in a closed-door meeting and assured
them that she believed that an Armenian genocide had happened in
eastern Anatolia during the final years of World War I, as Armenians
claim. But she later came to the conclusion that she would have to
deal with constant problems due to her ethnic identity as a Turk
even if she were elected to the Villeurbaunne City Council and thus
decided to withdraw her candidacy after she had been forced to make
the same statements publicly, sources told Today's Zaman.
Beatrice Vessilier, a representative of the Greens in Villeurbanne,
speaking with Today's Zaman, expressed her deep disappointment over
the incident. "None of us expected the issue to come to this point.
I'm so sorry -- also in regards to the political ethic," Vessilier
said. She also emphasized that Oran withdrew her candidacy at her
own initiative because she didn't want to be on the political agenda
solely related to this issue if elected. "She [Oran] didn't want to be
reduced to her ethnic roots as an elected person and to be constantly
annoyed because of that," Vessilier added.
Vessilier said that Bret's demand was "not easy to be fulfilled"
by Oran, while describing Bret as "extremely engaged concerning the
genocide issue."
Richard Llung, Bret's election director, defended Bret's stance,
saying that nobody should look for "courtesy" when the issue is
politics. "Every politician represents himself, but also represents
the society that he belongs to. This treatment ... may well be very
brutal. However, politics is not a profession that has courtesy in it,"
Llung said.
Ali Gedikoðlu, chairman of the France-based Cojep Platform -- a
multicultural youth association established by Turks in France --
said the incident in Villeurbanne was not an exception, as young
politicians who are members of the Cojep have been constantly pressured
in districts where there is a dominant Armenian population.
The Socialist Party, which had in the past gained huge support
from Turks, has gradually lost this support due to these kinds of
discriminatory policies, Gedikoðlu added. "I'm calling on Armenians
to act in a responsible manner. Nonetheless, I'm also calling on
the Turkish community who has left our daughter [Oran] alone in this
struggle. The indifference of the Turkish community encourages this
kind of inappropriate treatment," Gedikoðlu said.
Relations between Turkey and France were strained after the French
parliament approved a bill criminalizing the denial of the alleged
genocide in 2006. The bill, backed by the Socialist Party, drew ire
from Ankara, which said relations had sustained a heavy blow with
the law. France's 400,000-strong Armenian community constitutes a
formidable voter bloc. Former French leaders said that Turkey must
accept the alleged genocide to become a member of the EU, while the
country's current president, Nicolas Sarkozy, is against Turkish
entry under any condition.
Ankara rejects outright the Armenian claims of genocide and calls for
joint research of the events of the years of World War I, a proposal
that has not been welcomed by Armenia.
--Boundary_(ID_EWSyEml71B3G6oCfAE6jKQ)--