Anatolian Times, Turkey
May 12 2006

Erdogan Receives Executives Of French Companies

ANKARA – Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan received on
Tuesday executives of French companies investing in Turkey.
During the meeting, Prime Minister Erdogan said that the draft law
which was submitted to the French parliament by the Socialist Party
with the aim of punishing those who deny the so-called Armenian
genocide, would play havoc with the bilateral relations between
Turkey and France.

Stressing that historians should deal with events of the past, Prime
Minister Erdogan reacted to efforts to turn such events into a matter
of political decision.

Recalling that Turkey had opened its archives to use of researches,
Prime Minister Erdogan called on Armenia to display the same positive
attitude.

”We expect executives of French firms to react to the draft law
which will seriously hamper freedom of thought and expression. It
also contradicts fundamental freedoms,” Erdogan added.

Meanwhile, executives of French firms expressed their regret over the
draft.

Noting that they sent a letter to President Jacques Chirac of France,
they pledged to do everything in their power to prevent enactment of
the draft.