ORIENTALIST: FRANCE USES ARMENIAN GENOCIDE BILL AS A TOOL FOR EXERTING PRESSURE ON TURKEY

PanARMENIAN.Net
22.05.2007 14:46 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian-Turkish dialog is in a deadlock,
specialist in Turkic philology Anoush Hovhannisyan stated to a press
conference. "If up to this moment we watched some dialog and popular
diplomacy, now the process has reached a deadlock.

Those things that happen today in Turkey show the dialog now has
become difficult if not impossible at all," she said.

A. Hovhannisyan noticed Armenian-Turkish "Agos" bilingual
editor-in-chief Hrant Dink’s death had negative impact on
Armenian-Turkish relations. "Dink was against outside pressures on
Turkey and thought the Turkish government will fear not from outside
pressures but from awakening of his own people. He worked in this
direction and wanted to found a center of Armenian-Turkish relations,
thinking that we should look for more similarities between the two
nations for dialog than to create hostility," specialist in Turkic
philology said. In this respect she underlined Dink’s death has
immediate connection with the growth of nationalistic views in Turkey.

In his part Armenian orientalist Artak Shakaryan stated Turkey’s
movement towards Europe proceeds from Armenia’s interests. "Quicker
Turkey moves to Europe better for Armenia," he said, adding that Hrant
Dink’s murder and the recent events in Turkey threw back the country
from Europe, and EU High Representative on security and foreign affair
issues Javier Solana’s statements are evidences for what was said.

Artak Shakaryan underlined these processes had negative impact on
the future of Armenian-Turkish relations.

Besides, the future Turkish parliament, which will be nationalistic
and comparatively closer to Azerbaijan, again will put in a deadlock
any development in Armenian-Turkish relations.

Speaking on the possibility of adopting the bill on penalizing the
denial of the Armenian Genocide by the French parliament, Shakaryan
noticed that France’s stance is clear, they use that bill as a tool
for exerting pressure on Turkey.

Let us return to the history of the previous bill: in May France showed
it can adopt the bill frightening Turkey, and then they postponed
discussions over the document and adopted it in autumn, when a more
suitable moment came and it was necessary to press on Turkey. Now again
France demonstrates his ability," he said, "Novosti-Armenia" reports.