GENOCIDE: TURK PREMIER RAPS FRENCH COLONIALISM
Gulf Times, Qatar
Oct 11 2006
Protesters stand under a banner that reads ‘French parliamentarians!
Respect historical truths. Say no to the blackmail of the Armenians’
during a demonstration in front of the French embassy in Ankara
yesterday
ANKARA: Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan told France yesterday
to examine its own colonial history instead of drawing up legislation
that will make it a crime to deny Armenians suffered genocide in
World War I.
Relations between Paris and Ankara have become increasingly strained as
the French parliament prepares to vote tomorrow on a bill that will
impose prison terms on anyone who questions the Armenian genocide
in 1915.
An eventual "yes" vote could also seriously damage Turkey’s ties
with the whole European Union at a time when it is negotiating to
join the 25-nation bloc.
Ankara strongly denies charges that some 1.5mn Armenians perished
in a systematic genocide last century, saying large numbers of both
Christian Armenians and Muslim Turks died in a partisan conflict
raging at that time.
"There can be no legal justification for making it a crime to say a
lie is a lie," Erdogan said in a speech.
"France must look at what has happened in Senegal, Tunisia, Djibouti,
Guinea, Algeria," he added, referring to the time when Paris controlled
large swathes of Africa.
Despite the anger in Ankara, the French parliament moved a step closer
yesterday to approving the bill after the ruling Union for a Popular
Movement (UMP) gave its parliamentarians a free rein in the vote.
The proposed law was drawn up by the opposition Socialist party
and the rightist UMP, which is close to President Jacques Chirac,
had previously snubbed the idea.
Some ministers publicly say there is no need for legislation over the
issue, but the mood within the UMP has toughened since Chirac paid
a state visit to Armenia last month and said Turkey should recognise
the genocide before joining the EU.
UMP party officials expect around 60 of their 362 parliamentarians
to back the motion, with most of the rest likely to skip the debate,
handing victory to the Socialists.
The French parliament has already approved a bill in 2001 which stated
that France recognised the genocide. tomorrow’s vote will strengthen
the bill, laying out a one year prison term and 45,000 euro ($56,570)
fine for anyone denying the massacre.
Around 400,000 people in France have Armenian roots, making it a
powerful lobby, particularly in the south of the country, and some
top French politicians belong to the Armenian diaspora.
In Turkey, the parliamentary justice committee is due to decide today
whether to retaliate by proposing a bill that would criminalise the
denial of genocide in Algeria, which Paris ruled from 1830 to 1962.
Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has repeatedly called on France
to admit its part in the massacre of 45,000 Algerians who took to the
streets to demand independence as Europe celebrated victory over Nazi
Germany in 1945.
However, Erdogan signalled that Turkey would not pursue a tit-for-tat
policy, although his government has already warned that the bill
would badly damage bilateral ties.
"Some of our friends say ‘France did this, so we should retaliate’.
But we’re not among those who clean dirt with dirt. We’re among those
who clean off the dirt with clean water."
Bilateral trade amounted to nearly $10bn in 2005.
Some politicians have called for the expulsion of Armenians working
illegally in Turkey. Other measures mooted include boycotting French
products and freezing military co-operation.
Fearing a backlash, the spiritual leader of Turkey’s small Armenian
community, Patriarch Mesrob II, urged French restraint.
"All initiatives that prevent freedom of expression will strike a
blow to the process of dialogue between the Turkish and Armenian
communities and will strengthen excessive nationalist and racist
factors on both sides," he said.
Last year, Erdogan proposed a joint commission of Turkish and
Armenian historians to examine what really happened during World War
One. Armenia did not accept the proposal. – Agencies.