United Press International
Oct 20 2006
Turks asked to boycott French media
Oct. 20, 2006 at 11:40AM
Turkey’s TV and broadcast watchdog has asked the country to boycott
French media until France drops its Armenian genocide bill.
That’s in response to the French National Assembly’s approval of
a bill earlier this month, making it a crime to deny that the mass
killings of Armenians during World War I, in the last days of the
6-century-old Ottoman empire, were genocide. The bill now goes to
the French Senate. Turkey, which has been blamed for the killings,
has always strongly opposed the genocide designation.
In the latest move, the boycott appeal came from Turkey’s Radio and
Television Higher Board, reports the Zaman newspaper. The board said
its members had unanimously agreed that Turkish television and radio
stations should avoid airing French-made programs until the genocide
bill is withdrawn.
The Zaman reported that French films, TV shows and music account for
about 10 percent of the content on Turkish radio and television.
Separately, the report said the Turkish consumers union plans to
publicize one French company or brand every week, encouraging citizens
to boycott it.