Zaman, Turkey
Oct 7 2006

France will Lose Turkey if Genocide Law Adopted
By Bahtiyar Kucuk, Ankara
Saturday, October 07, 2006
zaman.com

The Turkish Foreign Ministry warned Paris that bilateral relations
would suffer if the French parliament approves a law making it a
punishable offence to deny the Armenian genocide.

Namik Tan, a foreign ministry spokesman, told French officials that
France would, so to speak, lose Turkey.

"The Armenian issue has poisoned bilateral ties in the past, but the
bill will inflict irreparable damage on our relationship, The Turkish
public opinion would perceive the approval of the bill as a hostile
act. Adoption of the bill would mean the elimination of freedom of
expression in France," said Tan.

There’s some considerable volume of business between Turkey and
France, Tan noted adding that French parliament’s recognition of the
draft bill would imperil the outcome of the work for many years to
improve the situation between the two countries.

There’re some initiatives on the part of Turkey to prevent a possible
parliamentary recognition of the draft bill, said Tan, and detailed
those initiatives as follows:

Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer wrote to his French counterpart
Jacques Chirac on 4 Sept. 2006.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is due to have talks with
French businessmen in Turkey.

Erdogan will have a telephone conversation with French Prime Minister
Philippe Douste Blazy.

A commission of foreign affairs of the Turkish parliament was in
France to voice their concerns.

The Turkish embassy in Paris has held negotiations with French
officials.

While the bill will most likely pass parliamentary approval ahead of
France’s parliamentary elections, French businessmen with investment
plans in Turkey are at unease.

Debate on the bill, which was originally tabled in May, followed
stern warnings from Ankara on the repercussions for bilateral and
economic relations.