Agence France Presse — English
October 13, 2006 Friday

France’s ‘genocide’ bill a ‘booby trap’ against Turkey’s EU bid: press

France has blackened its name as a country of freedom by voting a
controversial bill Thursday on the World War I massacres of
Armenians, Turkish newspapers said Friday, denouncing the draft as a
bid to block Turkey’s struggling bid to join the European Union.

"Genocide of thought," the mass-circulation Hurriyet said on its
front page, one day after the French National Assembly adopted a bill
— by 106 votes to 19 in the 577-seat house — making it a jailable
offence to deny that Armenians were the victims of genocide by
Ottoman Turks betwen 1915-17.

"106 stupid men," the popular daily Vatan blared, describing the
lawmakers who voted for the bill as "Les Miserables", after French
author Victor Hugo’s classic novel.

The mass-circulation Sabah ran, in French, the headline "J’accuse" —
after the title of another French author’s, Emile Zola’s, landmark
1898 article in favor of human rights — and described the bill as
"an unjustified decision that has hurt all Turks".

"France has guillotined democracy," the popular Aksam newspaper said.

Many commentators said the bill aimed to thwart Ankara’s membership
talks with the European Union, which began last year amid widespread
scepticim on whether this mainly Muslim country has a place in
Europe.

"The bill aims to booby trap Turkey’s path to EU membership rather
than touch our sore spot concerning the allegations of Armenian
genocide," a commentator in Sabah said.

"Turkey’s opponents… will now watch from the sidelines to see if we
fall for the trap and, if we do, they will create pandemonium,
arguing that Turkey has failed to adapt to European culture," he
wrote.

"Arrogant France does not want to become equals in the EU with the
Turks it despises," wrote the popular Vatan. "It is trying with this
unjust act to anger Turkey and make it feel insecure in order to sap
its will and determination" to join the EU.

A commentator in the liberal Radikal described the bill as a "blow
below the belt" to discourage Turkey from EU membership, an
alternative to coming up with concrete reasons to oppose Ankara’s
European aspirations.

Milliyet, another liberal daily, said the bill could result in a drop
of already waning public support in Turkey for EU membership.

It said the EU too should oppose the bill, which it described as
"indefensible anywhere in the world."

"This (bill) is a legal freak that the EU should oppose as firmly as
Ankara," it said. "The EU should remind France of the Copenhagen
criteria," the bloc’s basic tenets on human rights and freedoms.

Turkey has threatened retaliatory measures for the bill, which must
be approved by the French Senate and the president before it becomes
law, including barring French companies from potentially lucrative
projects.

Civic groups have said they are considering calling for a public
boycott of French goods.

But many commentators argued that Ankara should think twice before
going down that road and opt for legal action rather than economic
sanctions, which could have a bruising effect on Turkey.

"What we need to do is take steps that will deliver the biggest blow
to France without inflaming the public," a commentator in Sabah said.
"I hope we handle this well, because irrational xenophobia is the
last thing a country financing a… 30 billion dollar current
accounts deficit with foreign investment needs."