DECISION WOULD AFFECT CULTURAL DIALOGUE, PROF. DUMONT
Turkish Press
Oct 25 2006
ANKARA – "The bill adopted by the French National Assembly is a barrier
against freedom. It seems impossible for the cultural dialogue not
to get affected by this," Turkish History Professor Paul Dumont said
on Thursday.
Attending a conference organized by Hacettepe University in Ankara,
Professor Dumont answered the questions of the A.A reporter on French
National Assembly’s today’s decision.
Dumont reminded that he teaches Ottoman and Turkish history classes
at Strasbourg University and he also instructs Armenia-Turkey
relations. He said that the decision of the Assembly would affect
the freedom of speech.
"It is so bizarre in a free country like France that the scientists
cannot study on some issues and can get pecuniary penalty or jail
sentence if they talk on these issues," he said.
Prof. Dumont noted that the decision would be a barrier for the ones
who defend Turkey and would affect the cultural dialogue.
-FRANCE MADE A BIG MISTAKE, PROF. HALMAN-
Meanwhile, Dean of Humanities and Letters Faculty of Bilkent University
Prof. Dr. Talat Halman who attended the conference also answered the
questions of A.A on French National Assembly’s decision.
Halman said that France made a big mistake and Turkey has a justifiable
disappointment. "Turks always respected and admired French. French
culture affected our culture a lot. From now on probably there would
be a big resistance. This won’t be only an economic resistance. France
will face difficulties in terms of political agreements. We won’t
support them easily from now on. But the worst thing is that our
perfect cultural relations were damaged.
They wounded us, we did not deserve this. This is an injustice. I
hope France would correct this mistake somehow."