ERDOðAN SLAMS SARKOZY’S CONDITIONS

Turkish Daily News
Oct 10 2006

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan blasted conditions French
Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy laid down in return for voting down
a controversial bill penalizing any denial of the alleged genocide
of Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman Empire.

Presidential hopeful Sarkozy said on France-Inter radio that he had
spoken with Erdoðan on the telephone twice with regard to the French
bill, which will be debated at the National Assembly on Thursday,
and told him that they could oppose the bill if Turkey opens its
border gate with neighboring Armenia, scrap Article 301, which the
European Union says is restrictive of freedom of expression, from
its penal code, and establish a joint commission between Turkey and
Armenia to study the genocide allegations.

In response to Sarkozy’s conditions, Erdoðan said it was the Turkish
side which proposed the establishment of a joint commission for
academic debates on genocide allegations and made clear that Turkey’s
good intentions were not welcomed by Armenia, which rejected the
proposal.

On Article 301, Erdoðan said the French suggestion on that issue
had nothing to do with the issue, stressing that France was not in
a position to demand something from Turkey.

"First of all France should take a look at itself," Erdoðan said.

Facing pressure from the EU to amend or scrap Article 301 under which
scores of Turkish intellectuals have been put on trial, Turkey has
accused the bloc of applying double standards, saying that France
itself is blocking free speech under the bill that it plans to
legislate.

On opening the border gate, Erdoðan said Armenia should first act
with good will toward Turkey’s approach.

The border gate between Turkey and Armenia has been closed for more
than a decade. Turkey closed the gate and severed its diplomatic
relations with Armenia after Armenian troops occupied Azeri territory
of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Ankara now says normalization of ties depends on Armenian withdrawal
from Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as on progress in resolution of a
series of bilateral disagreements, including Armenia stopping to
support Armenian diaspora efforts to get international recognition
for the alleged genocide.

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