TURKISH MPS LOBBYING IN PARIS AGAINST BILL ON ARMENIAN “GENOCIDE”

Anatolia news agency, Ankara
11 May 06

Paris, 11 May: Turkish parliamentary delegation continues its lobbying
activities in Paris against the draft law which envisions imprisonment
to those “denying” so-called Armenian genocide (submitted by French
Socialist Party).

The delegation, which is comprised of [ruling] Justice and Development
Party (AKP) parliamentarians Mehmet Dulger and Musa Sivacioglu as well
as [main opposition] Republican People’s Party (CHP) parliamentarians
Onur Oymen and Gulsun Bilgehan Toker, held its first meeting with
Herve de Charette, deputy chairman of Foreign Affairs Commission of
the French parliament.

Following the meeting, Dulger told AA [Anatolia] that parliamentarians
of French ruling Popular Movement Party (UMP) promised to do their
best to prevent adoption of the draft law in parliament.

On the other hand, Oymen said: “We conveyed parliamentarians that
if the draft law is adopted, it will ham Turkish-French relations
on a large scale. From now on, relations between the two countries
should be based on a more different structure to eliminate lobbying
activities against Turkey.”

CHP parliamentarian Toker said: “This draft law is not moral. Even
if it is rejected, the draft law has already harmed Turkish-French
relations.”

The draft law will be debated at French parliament on 18 May. It must
be accepted at Senate to become law.