TURKISH PM TO FRANCE: ‘WILL YOU ARREST ME IF I REJECT ARMENIAN GENOCIDE CLAIMS?’
Journal of Turkish Weekly
Oct 8 2006
ISTANBUL and ANKARA – Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan met
with French businessmen on Saturday to discuss the so-called Armenian
Genocide issue and continued to raise his objections against the
"Armenian Genocide" bill in France.
Erdogan said that as a third party France had no right to make
decisions over a war between two nations in the past, and added:
"How can this issue ever be relevant to France? Mind your own
business!"
Erdogan asked what France’s attitude would be if he, or one of his
ministers, rejected the alleged Armenian Genocide in France and
continued:
"Will you arrest us and send us to prison? Do you have the power to
do that?"
Erdogan said intimate relations between countries should not be
sacrificed for this kind of issue and added: "Turkey is not a tribal
country. You cannot conduct these kinds of operations concerning our
country. France has made a great mistake."
The Turkish PM asserted this issue should be discussed by historians,
lawyers, art historians and scientists, and added there should be no
restrictions to discuss the issue.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress