TURKEY SUSPENDS MILITARY TIES WITH FRANCE OVER ARMENIAN GENOCIDE BILL
The Associated Press
International Herald Tribune, France
Nov 16 2006
ANKARA, Turkey: Turkey has suspended military relations with France
in a dispute over whether the mass killings of Armenians in the last
century amounted to genocide, the land forces commander said Wednesday.
The move raises tensions with a key member of the European Union at a
time when Turkey’s negotiations to become a member of the 25-nation
bloc look increasingly troubled, with neither side willing to give
way on a dispute over divided Cyprus.
Gen. Ilker Basbug told reporters that military ties with France
were suspended after lawmakers in France’s lower house of parliament
approved a bill in October that would make it a crime to deny that
Turks committed genocide against Armenians. The bill would have to
be approved by the French Senate and president to become law.
"Relations with France in the military field have been suspended,"
the state-owned Anatolia news agency quoted Basbug as saying. Asked
whether there were any cancellations of military visits, Basbug said:
"There are no high-level visits between the two countries."
France’s Foreign Ministry and Defense Ministry had no immediate
comment.
The Turkish general spoke at a reception in honor of the founding of
the breakaway republic in Turkish northern Cyprus.
In 1974, Turkish forces invaded the island to stop a coup by army
officers that aimed to unite Cyprus with Greece. Since then, Turkey
has propped up a government of ethnic Turks on the north of the island
that no other nation recognizes.
In 2004, the Greek-speaking side of Cyprus joined the EU, and the
conflict has threatened to derail Turkey’s hopes of also joining
the union.
Turkey has refused to extend its customs union to include Greek Cyprus,
despite EU warnings that failing to do so would risk the suspension of
membership talks. Turkey insists, however, that it will not open up
to Cyprus until an international embargo against Turks on the island
is lifted.
"If by the end of the year Turkey still does not recognize the 25
member states, notably including Cyprus, then it appears to me
necessary to rethink the timetable for the adhesion of Turkey,"
French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said last week.
France and Turkey are both NATO members, and Turkey has been a buyer
of French-made weaponry. The two countries also have participated
in military exercises together, and have sent troops to serve in the
international peacekeeping force in Lebanon.
But the Turkish military also has blacklisted several French firms
in the past in similar disputes over the mass killings of Armenians.
Turkey views the French genocide bill as a hostile, and has said
the lawmakers’ vote has deeply harmed Turkish-French relations. A
Turkish consumer’s union has called for a boycott of French goods,
and Turkey’s broadcasting watchdog suggested a complete boycott of
French films and other media.
Turkey vehemently denies that it committed genocide against Armenians,
though many nations have classified the World War I-era killings
as such.
Turkey acknowledges that large numbers of Armenians died in mass
expulsions and fighting, but says the number of dead is exaggerated
and that most were killed in interethnic battles as the Ottoman
Empire collapsed.
Armenians and many nations say some 1.5 million Armenians were killed
in a genocidal campaign devised and executed by Turkish leaders.
The European Union and European media have criticized the French bill,
saying it is not in line with the principle of free expression and does
not promote dialogue with Turkey. The United States also criticized
the French bill, saying that it gets in the way of establishing a
Turkish-Armenian dialogue.
The Armenian issue is one of the most divisive and emotional in
Turkey. Those who classify the killings as genocide are often accused
of treason.