The New Anatolian, Turkey
May 12 2006
Socialists insist on bringing Armenian bill to French Parliament
French Socialist Party (PS) Secretary-General Francois Hollande
yesterday expressed his party’s insistence on bringing a bill
stipulating prison terms for questioning the Armenian genocide claims
to the French Parliament’s floor.
Hollande’s remarks came in response to a call from French scholars
and intellectuals urging Parliament to remove the Armenian bill from
the Parliament’s agenda at next Thursday’s gathering, underling that
history should be left to historians.
“I understand historians’ criticism but to debate history is also the
duty of parliaments,” said Hollande, stressing that approval of the
bill by Parliament won’t block historians’ debates on the Armenian
genocide claims.
Urging Turkey to recognize the controversial Armenian events,
Hollande also claimed that one of the requirements for Ankara to
become a member of the European Union is recognition of the genocide
claims.
French historians, in a joint statement on Tuesday, expressed strong
opposition to the PS’ move to bring the Armenian bill to French
Parliament for approval, warning that history teachers will become
“prisoners” if the bill is approved.
The same historians in a joint declaration four months ago called on
Parliament to annual its recognition of the Armenian genocide claims
— taken in 2001 — underlining that parliaments cannot write
history.
Turkish ambassadors return to posts
The Turkish ambassadors to France and Canada, who were recalled to
Turkey for consultations, left Turkey yesterday to return to their
posts.
Turkish Ambassador to France Osman Koruturk and Ambassador to Canada
Aydemir Erman were recalled this week for “a short time” for
consultations, announced the Foreign Ministry on Monday.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Namik Tan stated that while Ambassador
Koruturk was recalled for consultations concerning the French
Parliament’s possible approval of the Armenian bill, Ambassador Erman
was recalled over Canada’s move to recognize the 1915 events as
“genocide.” “It’s anticipated that the ambassadors will return to
their posts after the consultations,” Tan also said on Monday.
Sezer urges Chirac to block Armenian bill
Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer this week sent a letter to his
French counterpart Jacques Chirac urging him to block the possible
approval of the Armenian bill, underling that it would be to the
advantage of neither country.
Calling on his French counterpart not to take any action that would
to ruin or upset cooperation and friendship between Turkey and
France, Sezer also stressed that approval of the controversial bill
would deal a serious blow to freedom of expression and thought, two
aspects of life that reminded Chirac are important to the French way
of life.
Sezer’s letter followed a similar one from Parliament Speaker Bulent
Arinc to his French counterpart in which Arinc warned French
Parliament not to take a decision that would undermine bilateral
relations between the two countries and efforts towards a
normalization of relations between Turkey and Armenia.
In related news, Ankara Chamber of Trade and Commerce (ATO) Chair
Sinan Aygun yesterday sent a letter to its French counterpart calling
on the withdrawal of the Armenian bill, stressing that such a
political move would damage commercial and economic relations between
the two countries as Turkish companies and the Turkish public are
preparing to boycott French goods and services.
Also yesterday Turkish Parliament’s European Union Harmonization
Commission head Yasar Yakis dismissed the consequences of a possible
approval of the Armenian bill, saying that the move won’t affect
Turkey’s EU accession process. “Turkey doesn’t have to do what each
European state wants,” he added.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
