Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Dec 23 2011

France no different than Mideast dictators: Davutoðlu

Hürriyet

The French politicians who passed a bill yesterday penalizing denials
of the 1915 events as genocide are no different than Mideast dictators
like Bashar al-Assad or Moammar Gadhafi, Turkish Foreign Minister
Ahmet Davutoðlu has said.

“Middle Eastern rulers dictate what their people may think or say,”
the Turkish foreign minister told a conference this morning attended
by all of the country’s ambassadors. “This is what is happening in
France right now.”

Davutoðlu further called on European intellectuals to stand up for
their values. “If the Europeans don’t, then we will,” he said.

The foreign minister also addressed Armenians, saying, “Every
individual who ever left Anatolia” was part of Turkey’s diaspora as
well.

“Our ambassadors will reach every Armenian citizen everywhere, and we
will discuss our common history,” Davutoðlu said.

December/23/2011