TURKISH DELEGATION ON FRENCH BILL: OBJECTION ALONE NOT ENOUGH

Zaman, Turkey
May 11 2006

A Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) delegation arrived in Paris
Tuesday to meet with members of the French Parliament over the new
legislative proposal to criminalize denial of the so-called Armenian
genocide.

The Turkish delegation, made up of Parliamentary Foreign Affairs
President Mahmet Dulger and parliamentarians Musa Sivacioglu, Onur
Oymen, Gulsun Bilgehan Token, met President of the French National
Parliament Jean-Louis Debre, leader of the People’s Movement Union
(UMP) Bernard Accoyer, and PS Group Leader Jean Marc Ayroult.

French politicians asserted that they are opposed to the bill,
officials reported.

Turkish parliamentary members then asked their French counterparts
to persuade other groups as well.

Known for his anti-Turkish viewpoints, former Prime Minister and
Parliamentary Foreign Affairs President Eduard Balladur said his
group also opposes the bill.

Moreover, the Turkish delegation also met some French members of the
parliament and Jacques Blanc, the Turkey-France Friendship Group Chair.

Communicating the Turkish people’s harsh criticism of the French
proposal, the delegation highlighted that history was the subject
area of historians.

As part of the latest developments, a declaration made by a group
in Turkey consisting of journalists, authors, and academics, known
for their controversial opinions on the so-called Armenian genocide,
was published in the French Liberation newspaper.