Turkish Press
May 11 2006
Press Review
TURKIYE
ARINC: `IN ADDITION TO HINDERING TURKEY’S EU BID, THE ARMENIAN BILL
IS ALSO MEANT FOR DOMESTIC POLITICAL CONSUMPTION’
Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc said yesterday that France’s Armenian
bill wasn’t meant solely to hinder Turkey’s European Union membership
bid, but also was meant for domestic political consumption. Saying
that Turkish parliamentarians were lobbying in Paris against the
bill, he added that he thought the bill would be rejected by the
French Parliament next Thursday. This bill disappoints Ankara, he
stated, warning that this would be taken into consideration in
relations. In related news, opposition True Path Party (DYP) leader
Mehmet Agar said that he hoped the bill won’t pass. `Such initiatives
can hurt Turkish-French relations,’ added Agar. /Turkiye/