FRENCH MPS TO DEBATE ARMENIA ‘GENOCIDE’ BILL, ANGERING TURKEY
by Marc Burleigh
Agence France Presse — English
October 11, 2006 Wednesday
French MPs are set to debate Thursday a bill on the 1915-1917 massacres
of Armenians by the Ottomans which, if passed into law, could gravely
threaten France’s economic relations with Turkey.
Tabled by the left-wing opposition, the draft law would make it a
crime in France to deny that the massacres constituted genocide,
hitting violators with a prison term of up to one year and a fine of
up to 45,000 euros (57,000 dollars).
Turkey, the modern state which emerged from a sprawling Ottoman Empire
that included Armenia, contests the term "genocide" for the killings
and strongly opposes the bill’s provisions.
It says 300,000 Armenians, and at least as many Turks, died in civil
strife when Armenians took up arms for independence and sided with
invading Russian troops as the Ottoman Empire fell apart during World
War I.
Armenians claim up to 1.5 million of their ancestors were slaughtered
in orchestrated killings.
Around 400,000 people of Armenian origin are estimated to live in
France, the most famous being the singer Charles Aznavour, born
Chahnour Varinag Aznavourian to immigrant parents.
In 2001 France adopted a law calling the massacres a genocide,
but the new bill would, in addition, make it illegal to deny that
genocide took place, much in the way denial of the Holocaust during
World War II is a crime.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday warned that
passage of the bill would be a mistake bearing serious consequences
for French investors in Turkey.
"We expect Paris to avoid this blunder, this political accident that
will harm Turkish-French relations," he told members of his party.
Erdogan claimed the criminalisation of those who challenged the
use of "genocide" for the Armenian killings ran counter to freedom
of expression in the European Union, which Turkey itself is under
pressure to respect as it seeks membership.
Ankara has warned France that its companies will be barred from
potentially lucrative economic projects in Turkey, including a planned
nuclear power plant, if the bill is adopted.
The Ankara Chamber of Commerce, which groups some 3,200 businesses,
has also threatened to boycott French goods.
At stake is bilateral trade that totalled 8.2 billion euros (10
billion dollars) in 2005.
But observers warned that any economic retaliation could prove worse
for Turkey than for France.
France plays a leading role in foreign direct investment in Turkey,
with 2.1 billion dollars (1.7 billion euros) last year and 328 million
dollars in the first seven months of this year. About 250 French firms
are active in Turkey, providing employment for about 65,000 people.
Nevertheless, Chirac’s ruling Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) party
has been unsettled by the intensity of the Turkish backlash over the
proposed law, which was entered by the opposition Socialist Party.
On Tuesday, French foreign ministry spokesman Jean-Baptiste Mattei
told reporters that the bill "does not implicate the government" and
"in our view, it is not necessary".
The head of the UMP majority in parliament, Bernard Accoyer, said
a "large number" of the party’s MPs would abstain from voting on
the bill.
"The law is not the best tool to write history," he said.
The furore also plays out against the context of Turkey’s EU membership
bid, and France’s key role in deciding its fate.
Chirac has championed Turkey’s ambition to join the European Union,
but domestic opposition — including within the UMP — has since
prompted him to add conditions and qualifications.
On a recent trip to Armenia, he said Turkey should recognise the
Armenian killings as a genocide before being allowed to join the EU.
But he also called the opposition bill "deliberately controversial".
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
