Today’s Zaman, Turkey
March 26 2007

Ankara concerned over EU plans for Genocide legislation

A draft resolution drawn up by European Union term president Germany
to introduce punishment for denial of genocide, war crimes and crimes
against humanity has raised concerns in Ankara, which fears it could
be used to silence debate about Armenian claims of genocide at the
hands of the Ottoman Empire.

The draft legislation was an issue in Justice Minister Cemil Çiçek’s
talks in Berlin last week and is expected to be debated at a Cabinet
meeting today. Çiçek will brief members of the government in detail
concerning possible unfavorable results of the resolution for Turkey
if it is eventually adopted. Germany, which took the helm of the EU
presidency as of Jan. 1, has been working on the draft since the end
of last year.The draft, which has been supported by the Armenian
lobby, would bring up to three years of imprisonment for those who
deny "genocides and war crimes committed against humanity." Çiçek,
who held talks in Germany last week, discussed the issue with his
counterpart, Brigitte Zypries, and expressed Ankara’s concerns over
the draft.

According to the draft, crimes of racism, xenophobia and denial of
genocide will be included in the joint legislation, which is binding
for all member countries. If the draft is adopted, any decision by a
national court or a national parliament of an EU member country which
would make it a crime to deny that Armenians were victims of
"genocide" at the hands of the Ottoman Empire, would open the way for
imprisonment for dismissing the genocide charges in other EU member
countries.

Germany’s goal is taking the draft on agenda of a meeting of Justice
and Home Affairs Council before July 1 when it hands over the EU
presidency to Portugal. In order to have the draft adopted as part of
EU legislation, EU members need to reach a consensus. There is
already an opposition to the draft within the EU. Britain, Italy and
Denmark are against the adoption of the draft, arguing that "it will
limit freedom of expression."

Turkey categorically denies charges that Armenians were subject to
genocide during World War I, and says that there were deaths on both
sides after Armenians took up arms and revolted against the Ottoman
Empire. The parliaments of a number of countries have endorsed
resolutions recognizing the alleged genocide, causing serious
deterioration in ties with Turkey.

The French National Assembly infuriated Turkey last October, by
backing a bill making it a crime to deny that Armenians were victims
of "genocide" at the hands of the Ottoman Empire, though it is
unlikely to become a law due to opposition from the Senate and
President Jacques Chirac. Ankara said the legislation would strike a
heavy blow to Turkish-French ties and also accused France, one of the
EU’s founding countries and which is known for championing liberties,
of staining freedom of expression with the bill it adopted. Slamming
the bill, the Turkish Parliament then released a joint declaration,
signed by all parties in Parliament, and said the bill was motivated
by calculations of domestic political gain. They said the bill would
also harm prospects for the normalization of relations between Turkey
and Armenia. Turkey also illustrated how seriously it takes the issue
when it said it would suspend military operations with France after
the vote.

Germany’s move as the EU term president comes at a time when the
public opinion in Turkey is highly concerned over passing of a
resolution supporting Armenian claims of genocide by the US Congress
as the April 24, anniversary of the alleged genocide approaches
closer.

Earlier this month, a senior US State Department official warned
Congress against passing the resolution, saying the move could result
in Turkey closing the Ýncirlik air base that is used by the US
military. Daniel Fried, the assistant secretary of state for European
and Eurasian affairs, told a hearing of a House Foreign Affairs
subcommittee on Europe that Turkish officials have informed the US
that approval of the resolution could lead to a shutdown of the base
or a restriction on US over-flight privileges granted by Turkey. He
also said the US has been informed that Ankara would respond with
"extreme emotion" if the Armenian resolution were approved. He added
that such a step would undercut those voices in Turkey which are
calling for a "truthful exploration of these events in pursuit of
Turkey’s reconciliation with its own past and with Armenia."

26.03.2007

Süleyman Kurt, Murat Aydýn Ankara