Turkey Freezes Ties with France Over Armenian Genocide Denial Bill
French Lower House Approving Bill
Turkey moves to freeze political and military ties with France in retaliation for the approval by the French lower chamber of the parliament of the bill which makes denial of the Armenian genocide committed at the end of the WWI punishable by law.
Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that Turkey has called the ambassador for consultations, has cancelled a meeting scheduled for January on economy and trade and has halted all training programs and cultural affairs.
Erdogan added that the French legislation was “unjust, inaccurate and that Turkey condemned it vehemently.” He also said that people would not forget those who distort history or use it to political purposes, alluding to the fact that the denial bill comes as a way of the French president to win over the large Armenian community in France in the run-up of the presidential election.
Erdogan restated the Turkish version of national history according to which the Ottoman Empire committed no genocide against the Armenians and that the Turks must be proud of their country and have nothing to be ashamed of.
The PM added that these are only the first measures against France and that those who follow depend on what the answer of the French parliament would be. He argued that the powerful economy of his country has the possibility of hurting the French economy through companies such as Airbus or Electricite de France.
According to the French new law, denying the Armenian genocide could cause one year in prison and 45,000 euros fine. The bill is moving to the Senate, which has set no timetable to analyze it.
1.5 million Armenians died between 1915 and 1923 in what historians call a programmed murder against them. 20 countries already recognize the existence of a genocide committed against Armenians.
Turkish authorities consider that the Armenians who died in that period died in clashes with the Turkish army and that thousands of Turks died on that occasion too. Armenian and Turkish historians work toward a harmonization of views on the matter.
The French law is deemed as short-sided even by those involved in the process of settling this differences because it is expected to create an emotional response in Turkey that would set back the progress of talks for years.
Turkey reacted the same way in 2006, when France passed a similar legislation and Gas de France was not allowed to participate in the gas pipeline Nabucco. The Turkish ambassador was pulled out when the US lower house voted on a law that recognized what happened in the 1920s as a genocide against Armenians.
