FRENCH SENATOR BACKS TURKEY’S KURD, ARMENIAN INITIATIVES

Hurriyet Daily News
Sept 16 2009
Turkey

Gerard Larcher, the head of the French Senate, expressed on Wednesday
his full support for Turkey’s recently launched Kurdish move and
Armenia reconciliation process, saluting the country’s improvements
in the field of democratization.

"The normalization of relations between Turkey and France is important
for us. We want to establish the future. The dialogue between the two
people should be revived. The task of examining history should be left
to historians," Larcher told reporters at a joint press conference
with Parliament Speaker Mehmet Ali Å~^ahin.

Ties between France and Turkey were strained when France recognized
the 1915 events between Turks and Armenians as genocide in 2000. The
French Parliament went further by trying to impose a law that prohibits
the denial of the "genocide" in 2005 but the Senate blocked the
process. Larcher became the first French Senate chairman to visit
Turkey since 1958.

Larcher and Å~^ahin signed a protocol to improve cooperation between
the two parliaments.

Emphasizing the reforms Turkey has made in the last seven years,
Larcher said: "Important steps have been taken for the EU. We are in a
position to help you on this issue. We are aware of how sensitive you
are about your citizens of Kurdish origin and religious freedoms. We
do sincerely salute your efforts."

When asked about the disagreements between him and French President
Nicolas Sarkozy about Turkey, the French senator pointed out that he
was representing the legislature.

"The legislative and executive branches are separate in our country,"
he said. "We may not be of the same opinion as the president all the
time. The executive is responsible for today, but we try to shape
the future. We don’t rule out the difficulties."

Å~^ahin said he informed his counterpart about the recently launched
initiatives. "The decision about Turkey’s EU membership will be made
by the relevant institutions after lengthy negotiations," he said. "I
have conveyed to him that efforts to obstruct the process at this
moment were wrong."

The French delegation will also held meetings in Istanbul on Thursday
and will meet with Fener Greek Patriarch Bartholomeos as well as
representatives of the cultural and academic worlds.