FRENCH BILL ON ARMENIA GENOCIDE DRAWS ANGER
By Martin Arnold in Paris and Vincent Boland in Ankara
Financial Times, UK
Oct 12 2006
Published: October 12 2006 17:24 | Last updated: October 12 2006 17:24
France’s national assembly on Thursday approved legislation making it
a crime to deny that Armenians suffered a genocide during the Ottoman
empire, provoking a furious reaction from Turkey and adding to doubts
over Ankara’s bid to join the European Union.
The vote triggered anger in Turkey, reflecting a growing feeling
among politicians, officials and commentators that France was now
permanently opposed to Ankara’s bid to join the European Union.
Bulent Arinc, speaker of parliament, criticised France’s "hostile
attitude" towards Turkey.
The bill may never become law as it must still be approved by the
senate, France’s upper house of parliament, and signed by president
Jacques Chirac, who is opposed to the initiative and whose government
ultimately controls the agenda of the senate.
But French historians condemned it as counter-productive, comparing
it with a contentious law forcing schools to teach the positive side
of French colonial history, which was repealed this year.
Only minutes after the vote, Orhan Pamuk, Turkey’s best-known novelist,
was awarded the Nobel prize for literature. Mr Pamuk was once put on
trial for saying in an interview that nobody in Turkey dared mention
the Armenian genocide.
"This is a shameful decision," said Mr Arinc. "We are very sorry to
see that this [bill] was passed only because of internal [French]
politics."
Hurriyet, the leading Turkish newspaper, ran a front page headline
"Liberte, egalite, stupidite." Ankara politicians have threatened to
retaliate with economic sanctions and even toyed with a law making
it a crime to deny that North Africans were massacred by French
colonial rulers.
The vote exposed deep divisions at the top of France’s government
against a background of rising French public opposition to Turkey’s
bid to join the EU.
Politicians in Paris are split on the issue, with Mr Chirac in
favour, but prominent ministers like Nicolas Sarkozy are firmly
opposed. Segolène Royal, the Socialists’ leading presidential
candidate, has sat on the fence, saying this week she would defer to
public opinion on the Turkish question.
Catherine Colonna, minister of European affairs and former spokeswoman
for Mr Chirac, condemned the bill on Thursday. She was jeered in
the national assembly for saying: "It is not for the law to re-write
history."
The vote had little impact in Turkey’s financial markets. But diplomats
and political commentators said French companies could be frozen
out of the bidding as Turkey prepares to build three nuclear power
stations and to replace parts of its defence infrastructure.
Passage of the bill also makes it much harder for the EU to push
Turkey to reform or abolish article 301, the clause in the penal code
that allows prosecution of writers and journalists. Richard Howitt,
an MEP with a close interest in Turkey, said it would be "the worst
kind of hypocrisy and provocation" for France to insist that Turkey
"do as we say, not as we do."
Mr Chirac said on a visit to Armenia at the start of the month
that Turkish recognition of the Armenian genocide should become a
pre-condition of EU membership.
The Armenian issue is particularly sensitive in France because of its
450,000-strong Armenian community, which has grown increasingly rich
and influential. Armenians claim up to 1.5m people died in 1915-18.
Turkey denies genocide, and admits only that hundreds of thousands
of both Armenians and Turks died, largely as a result of civil war
and famine.
Patrick Devedjian, a UMP deputy and adviser to Mr Sarkozy, who has
led the push on the right for the bill, said: "Turkey cannot give
us lessons about repressing public opinion, as it was the Erdogan
government that adopted the law 301, putting people in prison just
for talking about the genocide."
France has strong economic ties with Turkey. About 250 French companies
operate there, including Renault, Danone and Carrefour.
France is the fifth exporter to Turkey with $4.7bn of French goods
sold there in 2005.
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