TURKISH PARLIAMENT CONDEMNS FRENCH GENOCIDE BILL

Deutsche Presse-Agentur
October 17, 2006 Tuesday 4:31 PM EST

DPA POLITICS Turkey Diplomacy France Turkish parliament condemns French
genocide bill Ankara The Turkish Parliament on Tuesday condemned a
bill passed last week by the lower house of the French Parliament that
would make it a crime to deny that massacres of Armenians during the

First World War constituted a genocide, the Anadolu news agency
reported.

In a statement supported by all parties, the parliament condemned
the move as a blow to freedom of speech and warned it would hurt
French-Turkish bilateral relations.

"By passing this bill the French parliament has clearly damaged
political, economic and military relations between Turkey and France,"
the statement said.

While Turkey admits that massacres took place, it vehemently denies
that the deaths of Armenians during the war were part of a planned
genocide.

French political observers believe the bill will fail to become law
thanks to a strong government majority in the French upper house.

The French government has come out against the bill.

No official sanctions have been announced by the Turkish Government
but public campaigns have already begun to call for a boycott of
French goods.