The Guardian, UK
Oct 13 2006

French MPs anger Ankara over Armenian genocide vote

Angelique Chrisafis in Paris
Friday October 13, 2006
The Guardian

Turks demonstrate outside the French consulate in Istanbul over
France’s plans to make it a crime to deny that Armenians suffered
genocide at the hands of Ottoman Turks after the first world war.
Photograph: Reuters

The French national assembly yesterday passed a bill making it a
crime to deny that Armenians suffered genocide at the hands of
Ottoman Turks during the first world war, sparking anger in Turkey
and condemnation from Brussels.
The bill, proposed by the opposition Socialist party, states anyone
who denies that the mass murder of Armenians from 1915-1917 was
genocide should face a year in prison and a 45,000 (£30,000) fine.

The bill is unlikely to become law as it faces opposition from the
French government and president Jacques Chirac.

But Ankara’s foreign ministry said relations between the Nato allies,
France and Turkey had been dealt "a severe blow" and warned of
"political consequences". French businesses which exported 4bn of
goods to Turkey last year feared a consumer boycott.
Turkish commentators said the proposed law could boost Turkish
nationalists and undermine pro-EU liberals by exposing the depth of
anti-Turkey feeling in France, a founder member state. Some MEPs
warned that the French bill would hamper efforts by Turkish
intellectuals to develop an open debate on the Armenian question,
sending a hypocritical message that an EU country was prepared to
lock people up for expressing a particular view of history just as
Europe is pressuring Turkey to promote freedom of expression.

Richard Howitt, Labour MEP and foreign affairs spokesman, told the
Guardian the French move was the "worst kind of hypocrisy and
provocation". He said the bill reflected problems in France, and was
"partly racially motivated against Turkey which is a majority Muslim
state". He said French politicians were also courting the Armenian
community in France – which at more than 400,000 is the largest
Armenian diaspora in western Europe.

A European commission spokeswoman said: "It is not up to law to write
history. Historians need to have debate."

Turkey’s official policy is to acknowledge that large numbers of
Armenians were killed by Turks, but to reject the overall estimate of
1.5m deaths as inflated. It maintains that deaths occurred as part of
civil unrest during the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and thousands
of Turks also died. Saying otherwise can lead to prosecution and some
of Turkey’s literary names have faced trial over the issue.

The French government yesterday tried to limit the damage by
stressing its "solid ties of friendship and cooperation" with Turkey,
vowing to oppose the bill. The French parliament’s lower house
approved the bill by 106 votes to 19.

The European commission said recognition of an Armenian genocide was
not a precondition for Turkey entering the EU. But Jacques Chirac and
two likely candidates for next year’s presidential elections, Nicolas
Sarkozy and Ségolène Royal, have all stated that Ankara must accept
the genocide before joining the EU.