Xinhua , China
Oct 14 2006

Turkish consumers union starts to boycott French goods

The Turkish Consumers Union announced Friday that it has started to
boycott goods and services of French origin in protest against a bill
passed by French lawmakers, the semi-official Anatolia news agency
reported.

"As of today, we are going to boycott one French product every week
and show our reaction" against a bill criminalizing any denial of the
alleged massacres of Armenians during World War I, Bulent Deniz,
chairman of the union, was quoted as saying.

"We will not purchase fuel oil, lube oil, and LPG (Liquefied
Petroleum Gas) from the Total Company. France will be the party that
loses unless this unfortunate process ends," Deniz said.

"The Turkish Consumers Union considered boycott as the last
alternative," said Deniz, adding that the boycott will continue
increasingly until the French bill gets annulled.

French lawmakers on Thursday voted 106-19 for a draft bill, which
calls for up to a year in prison and fines of up to 56,000 U. S.
dollars for anyone who denies the alleged Armenian genocide during
World War I. The bill must be passed by the Senate and signed by
French President Jacques Chirac.

Turkey, a secular Muslim country which is seeking EU membership, has
vowed to impose economic sanctions on France if the bill is passed in
the French parliament.

Turkey has always denied that up to 1.5 million Armenians were
subject to genocide in the period between 1915 and 1923.

However, it does acknowledge that up to 300,000 Armenians died during
fighting and efforts to relocate populations away from the war zone
in eastern Turkey.

According to the Zaman daily, Turkey is the fifth largest customer of
French goods outside the EU. France’s export to Turkey values at 5.9
billion dollars while its import from Turkey remains at 3.8 billion
dollars.