TURKISH PM SAYS ARMENIAN RESOLUTION AT FRENCH SENATE MAY CAUSE GREAT HARM TO TURKISH-FRENCH TIES

Xinhua General News Service
January 9, 2012 Monday 1:55 PM EST
China

Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday that an
Armenian resolution at the French Senate may cause great harm to
Turkish-French relations if it gets adopted.

Erdogan made the remarks at a joint press conference with visiting
Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg in Turkey’s capital Ankara,
saying that there were around 550,000 Turks living in France and that
there were also circles in France that supported Turkey’s arguments
referring to the incident of 1915.

Turkey and Armenia have been bogged down in a dispute over the World
War I-era deaths of Armenians under the Ottoman rule. Armenia says
the deaths occurred in a “genocide,” while Turkey denies the charge
and insists that the Armenians were victims of widespread chaos and
governmental breakdown as the Ottoman Empire collapsed before modern
Turkey was created.

There are French companies in Turkey with important investments
who have been bothered by the steps taken against Turkey in France,
Erdogan said, adding that these companies have written letters to
French authorities complaining about the issue.

In 2001, France passed a law recognizing the killing of Armenians
as genocide. Five years later, the French National Assembly passed a
bill considering it an offence to deny the mass killing of Armenians,
but the bill was later rejected by the Senate.

Drafted by members of French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s ruling party
Union for Popular Movement (UMP), the bill mandated a 45,000 euros
(about 58,750 U.S. dollars) fine and a year in jail for offenders.

On Dec. 22 of last year, Turkey announced to suspend its military and
economic cooperation and all bilateral political consultations with
France, after French lawmakers passed a bill criminalizing those who
refuse to recognize the killing of Armenians in 1915 as “genocide.”

Now, the French Senate’s approval is necessary to make the resolution
a law. If the resolution is not adopted at the Senate by Feb. 22,
2012 when the parliament and senate recess for presidential elections,
it will become invalid.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress