FRENCH APPROVAL OF ARMENIAN BILL STILL SPARKING REACTIONS AT HOME AND ABROAD
The New Anatolian, Turkey
Oct 16 2006
Parliament is to convene for an extraordinary meeting on Tuesday to
discuss possible steps towards France after its Parliament approved a
bill criminalizing denial of an Armenian "genocide," Foreign Minister
Abdullah Gul announced late Thursday.
"We warned France that if such a bill were passed by its Parliament,
the loser would be France. Paris will always be embarrassed by this,"
Gul said, evaluating the passage of the bill which introduces prison
terms up to one year and fines up to 45,000 euros to those who question
the Armenian genocide claims.
Lashing out at the decision, Gul said, "France showed the world
that it is a country which runs behind small policies. For the sake
of interests in the upcoming elections, France has destroyed its
historic prestige."
Gul also stressed that France will no longer be able to define or
praise itself as the "country of freedoms where thoughts are expressed
without limits."
Underlining that Ankara won’t take the matter lightly, Gul said,
"We won’t take a stance like that of 2001. We consider this to be more
serious than the French recognition of the genocide claims then. The
process will be monitored closely."
Gul also expressed the hope that Turkish public will unite on the
issue and France will come out of the deadlock it has created.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry’s response to the French move was to
say immediately on Thursday that ties with France "have been dealt
a heavy blow."
PM: Great shame, black stain on freedom of expression
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan lashed out at the passing of
Armenian bill, labelling the French legislation a "great shame and
black stain on freedom of expression."
"A historic mistake has been committed," Erdogan said in a written
statement that also cautioned against overreaction.
"It is unacceptable for us to accept or show tolerance to the French
move. Unfortunately, no one can control the consequences of the
irresponsible behavior of French politicians," the Prime Ministry
statement said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
