Lawyer for Turkish Diplomat Wants a Dismissal
By Ali Ihsan Aydin

Zaman Online, Turkey
Oct 13 2004

Paris — The French lawyer representing the Turkish Consulate in a
suit filed against it by the Defense Committee for the Armenian Case
(DCAC) asked that the case be thrown out on the grounds that the
DCAC’s action is incompatible with the “legal immunity” provided to
diplomats by the Vienna Convention.

The case originated when the Turkish Consulate General in Paris denied
the existence of an “Armenian Genocide” on its website. The DCAC
filed a complaint that the court will decide on come November 15th.

According to the defense, the Turkish Consulate is beyond the
jurisdiction of a domestic French court because the Vienna Convention
reasoned that the international obligations of diplomats sometimes
ran contrary to domestic law.

Despite pressure from the opposition, French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre
Raffarin will preside over a meeting on Thursday, October 14, in the
French Parliament, that will address Turkey’s potential negotiations
with the European Union (EU).