France Discusses Chirac’s Surprise Turkey Support
Zaman, Turkey
Dec 17 2004
French President Jacques Chirac is being fiercely criticized for his
open support of Turkey prior to the historic European Union (EU)
summit in spite of French public opinion and opposition by Chirac’s
own party.
The leader of the coalition partner representing France’s
center-right, the Union for Public Movement (UDF) party, Francois
Bayrou, accused Chirac of ignoring the government’s position and
acting like a monarch in his support of Turkey’s EU membership bid.
Bayrou told RTL radio yesterday: “I listened to what the President
said with sadness and anger. This is a monarchy. And many French
people do not want to live under a monarchy, even if it is a
presidential one. In any other country, such an important decision
could not be made by a single person in such a unilateral way.” Alain
Madelin, a former government minister and deputy in the UMP also
reacted to Chirac’s speech describing the president’s decision as
unilateral that was not based on any democratic debate or vote. He
called the decision the “bankruptcy of democracy.” Nicolas Sarkozy,
UMP leader and potential rival for the French presidency in 2007,
said Chirac has created “incontestable difficulty” and said, “I have
to calm certain things.” UMP Parliamentary Group Chair Bernard
Accoyer, explained that a consensus had been reached within the party
regarding the beginning of negotiations with Turkey and that the
majority is against Turkey’s membership.
Armenians pleased with Chirac
The Armenian Diaspora living in France is pleased with Chirac’s
televised speech on Wednesday (December 15). In a historic statement,
Chirac used the word “drama” instead of the expression “Armenian
Genocide” and said Turkey would one day respect the Armenians’
“collective memory.” Harout Mardirossian, President of the Committee
for the Defense of the Armenian Cause, said Chirac described the
issue of “Armenian Genocide” as “a problem between Turkey and
Armenia” a few months ago and said they are pleased with Chirac’s
statement.
12.17.2004
Ali Ihsan Aydin
Paris