Month: February 2012

TURKISH FM THANKS FRENCH MPS AND SENATORS REJECTING ARMENIAN BILL

Anadolu Agency
Feb 1 2012
Turkey

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu thanked French
parliamentarians and senators who appealed the law on Armenian
allegations at French Constitutional Council.

Davutoglu, who is currently holding meetings in Belgrade, told AA
on Tuesday that the parliamentarians and senators claimed freedom of
thought, and he wished Turkish-French friendship would win in the end.

Now what we have to do is to wait for the decision of French
Constitutional Council, he said.

Earlier on Tuesday, French senators appealed the law penalizing denial
of the Armenian allegations on the Ottoman era incidents of 1915 that
was adopted at the French Senate.

65 MPs and 72 senators signed to appeal the law at the French
Constitutional Council.

The council is expected to make public its decision within a month.

The French Parliament and Senate enacted the bill last week.

The law penalizes denial of the Armenian allegations with a prison
term of one year and a fine of 45,000 euro.

TURKEY SAYS WELCOMES APPEAL OF FRENCH DENIAL LAW

Anadolu Agency
Feb 1 2012
Turkey

Turkish Foreign Ministry said Tuesday Turkey welcomed appeal of a
French law that penalizes denial of Armenian allegations on Ottoman era
incidents of 1915 to France’s top constitutional body for annulment.

“We welcome this most honorable initiative. We will now wait for the
Constitutional Council’s ruling which we believe would fit with the
France’s rooted tradition of democracy and of rule of law,” said the
Turkish Foreign Ministry in a press release.

French senators appealed earlier today the law penalizing denial of
Armenian allegations with a prison term of one year and a fine of 45
thousand euros.

Sixty-five MPs and 72 senators signed to appeal the law at the French
Constitutional Council.

The council is expected to make public its decision within a month.

AZERBAIJANI MPS PROPOSE DISMISS OF FRANCE FROM MINSK GROUP

Feb 1 2012
Turkey

Several Azerbaijani parliamentarians proposed to dismiss France from
its mission as co-chair of Minsk Group at the Organization for Security
& Cooperation in Europe.

Several Azerbaijani parliamentarians proposed to dismiss France from
its mission as co-chair of Minsk Group at the Organization for Security
& Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

Azerbaijani Parliament Speaker Oktay Asadov said on Wednesday that
France lost its spiritual right as co-chair of Minsk Group which
undertakes a mediation role in solution of the problem of Upper
Karabagh that is under occupation of Armenia.

Recently, French Senate adopted a law which penalizes the denial of
Armenian allegations regarding 1915 incidents during Ottoman Empire
period. Under the law, people, who deny the Armenian allegations,
are sentenced to one year in prison and 45,000 euro fine. On Tuesday,
77 senators and 65 parliamentarians in France applied to French
Constitutional Council for the annulment of the law. The Council will
announce its decision within a month.

All parliamentarians at Azerbaijani Parliament including Asadov
supported the proposal.

Asadov said that Azerbaijan would try every possible way to support
Turkey.

TURKISH PRESIDENT BELIEVES FRENCH COURT TO MAKE RIGHT DECISION ON LAW CRIMINALIZING DENIAL OF ARMENIAN CLAIMS

Anadolu Agency
Jan 31 2012
Turkey

DUBAI (A.A) -January 31, 2012 -Turkey’s president expressed belief on
Tuesday [31 January] that the French Constitutional Council would make
the right decision on the law penalizing denial of Armenian allegations
on the Ottoman era incidents of 1915, adopted at the French Senate.

President Abdullah Gul said he did not think that the French would
overshadow their own country.

“Now the Constitutional Court will make the right decision,” Gul told
reporters in Dubai.

Earlier on Tuesday, French senators appealed on Tuesday the law
penalizing denial of the Armenian allegations on the Ottoman era
incidents of 1915 adopted at the French Senate.

65 MPs and 72 senators signed to appeal the law at the French
Constitutional Council.

The council is expected to make public its decision within a month.

The French Parliament and Senate enacted the bill last week.

The law penalizes denial of the Armenian allegations with a prison
term of one year and a fine of 45,000 euros.

PRIME MINISTER ERDOGAN: FRANCE IS FORCING THE DOOR OF A DANGEROUS PROCESS

Anadolu Agency
Jan 31 2012
Turkey

ANKARA (A.A) -Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that
France was forcing the door of a very dangerous process by trying to
write history at parliament.

Turkey is expecting French people to raise their voices against this,
added Erdogan who addressed nation on Monday.

Commenting on French Senate’s adopting a bill which criminalizes
the denial of Armenian allegations regarding 1915 incidents during
Ottoman Empire period, Erdogan said that a state, which praised itself
of being the leader of enlightenment in history, was now leading the
rise of dark medieval mindset.

Today, France is using the language of separatism, racism and clashes,
said Erdogan, adding that Sarkozy’s France was based on dogmas,
prejudices and delusions.

Noting that Turkey made its warnings to France beforehand, Erdogan
said that the mission of parliaments was not to write history.

Turkey proposed to leave this issue to historians and scientists,
but Sarkozy did not hesitate to crush European values just to gain
a few thousand more votes in the upcoming elections, said Erdogan.

As I said before, this bill, which was adopted at French Parliament
and Senate, is null and void for us, said Erdogan.

We pursue our initiatives for French senators to apply to French
Constitutional Council against the bill, added Erdogan.

The bill penalizes denial of the Armenian allegations regarding 1915
incidents with a prison term of one year and a fine of 45,000 euro.

TURKISH PREMIER EXPRESSES HIS GRATITUDE TO FRENCH SENATORS

Anadolu Agency
Jan 31 2012
Turkey

ANKARA (A.A) -January 31, 2012 -Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan said Tuesday [31 January] that he would like to express his
gratitude to French senators who signed to appeal the law penalizing
denial of the Armenian allegations on the Ottoman era incidents of
1915 adopted at the French Senate.

Signatures of 65 MPs and 72 senators have been collected to appeal
the law at the French Constitutional Council.

Replying to questions of reporters, Erdogan said that he believed
that senators and MPs did what should be done.

French senators appealed the law at the French Constitutional Council
on Tuesday.

The council is expected to make public its decision within a month.

The law penalizes denial of the Armenian allegations with a prison
term of one year and a fine of 45 thousand euros.

From: Baghdasarian

TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTER THANKS FRENCH MPS AND SENATORS APPEALING ARMENIAN LAW AT CONSTITUTIONAL COUNCIL

Anadolu Agency
Jan 30 2012
Turkey

BELGRADE (A.A) -Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu thanked
French parliamentarians and senators who appealed the law on Armenian
allegations at French Constitutional Council.

Davutoglu, who is currently holding meetings in Belgrade, told AA on
Tuesday [31 January] that the parliamentarians and senators claimed
freedom of thought, and he wished Turkish-French friendship would
win in the end.

Now what we have to do is to wait for the decision of French
Constitutional Council, he said.

Earlier on Tuesday, French senators appealed the law penalizing denial
of the Armenian allegations on the Ottoman era incidents of 1915 that
was adopted at the French Senate.

In all, 65 MPs and 72 senators signed to appeal the law at the French
Constitutional Council.

The council is expected to make public its decision within a month.

The French Parliament and Senate enacted the bill last week.

The law penalizes denial of the Armenian allegations with a prison
term of one year and a fine of 45,000 euro.

DENIAL BILL RUNS UP 356 MILLION DOLLAR COST MONTHLY

Sabah
Feb 1 2012
Turkey

The protest of the Armenian bill has resulted in a 34.4% drop in
French imports compared to the same period of the year prior. The
increasing reactions have at present resulted in a monthly detriment
to Sarkozy of 356 million dollars.

The draft passed by the French Parliament which deems criminalizing
the Armenian allegations of a so-called ‘genocide’ has slowly begun
to result in an increasing financial bill incurred by France. Import
figures from France for December, 2011 regressed to 678,946,000
dollars, which is a 34.4% drop compared to figures from the same
period the year prior.

As a result, Nicolas Sarkozy’s ‘Armenian bill’, which he put forth
in order to gain favor in the upcoming elections, has resulted in
costing France 356 million dollars in one month alone. According to
foreign trade figures from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUÄ°K),
in 2011, Turkey’s exports to France increased by 12.5%, surpassing 6.8
billion dollars. Export figures from December of last year decreased
by 12 percent, compared to the same time period from the year prior,
and regressed to 543,387,000 dollars.

ELEVENTH LARGEST MARKET According to figures from the Foreign Economic
Relations Board (DEÄ°K), during the 2011 January to November period,
Turkey was the top 11th country to export goods to France, and the
top 16th country to receive French imports. During the same time
period, Turkey consisted of 1.64 percent of France’s total exports,
while Turkey provided for 1.17 percent of France’s total imports.

FRENCH FIRMS ARE TRYING NOT TO DRAW ATTENTION

According to information obtained, following France’s approval of
the ‘denial’ bill, French firms operating in Turkey received an
order to ‘not draw attention’. According to an article in France’s
Le Monde, businessmen are concerned that the joint trade volume,
which had reached 12 billion euros in 2011, would incur harm due to
the tension which has surfaced in diplomatic relations over recent
years. A high-level official at TEB, BNP Paribas’ Turkish partners,
relayed to Le Monde that they had received an order to ‘not draw
attention!’ At present, there are 400 French-based firms operating
in Turkey with over 100,000 employees.

PM ERDOGAN: FRANCE NEEDS TO BREAK FREE OF THIS MIDDLE AGES MENTALITY

Sabah
Feb 1 2012
Turkey

Prime Minister Erdogan laid into France for its acceptance of the
Armenian bill. “The France of Sarkozy’s administration is based on
dogma, biases and delirium.”

Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoðan slammed France in his Address to the
Nation last night by delivering the following messages:

FRANCE IS HAUNTED BY THE MENTALITY OF THE MIDDLE AGES: “Unfortunately
a civilization that brags of being the pioneer of enlightenment is
now led by a dark Middle Ages mentality. The France, which once aimed
to form a union in order to prevent conflict in Europe following the
Second World War, today speaks a language of discrimination, racism
and conflict. The France of the Age of Enlightenment was the center
of intellectualism, however the France of Sarkozy’s administration
is based on dogma, biases and delirium.”

STEPPING ON EUROPEAN VALUES: “We have issued the necessary threats to
France. With the approaching election, Sarkozy seems to have no problem
stepping on European values all for the sake of a few thousand votes
by Devshirmeh.” Erdoðan’s reference is to the Christians conscripted
to join the janissaries during the Ottoman Empire.

“I have said it before; this bill that was accepted by the French
National Assembly and Senate is non existent for us. By attempting to
rewrite history in the parliament, Sarkozy’s France is forcing open a
door to a very dangerous era. Therefore, as Turkey, in order to stop
watering this poisonous vine sprouting in France, we are asking our
French comrades and the French public to raise their voices.”

SAY ‘NO’ TO THIS ANIMOSITY AGAINST TURKEY: “I believe that the
conventional wisdom inherent in France will say stop to this trend
of racism and discrimination led by Sarkozy and to the animosity
towards Turkey. Turkey is a great country and will act in accordance
to this greatness. It will take on stances according to the course
of developments and we will implement sanctions in stages.”

SARKOZY TO RE-DRAFT GENOCIDE BILL IF REJECTED: MINISTERS

Cumhuriyet
Feb 1 2012
Turkey

President Nicolas Sarkozy will immediately submit a new draft of a
law punishing denial of the Armenian genocide if France’s top judicial
body rejects it, two ministers told AFP Wednesday.

PARIS- “The president told us in cabinet that he would immediately
submit a new draft if there is a rejection by the Constitutional
Council” of a bill approved recently by the French parliament, said
one of the ministers, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Another minister said Sarkozy had also criticised those in cabinet
who had opposed the bill, saying they “did not see past the ends of
their noses”. He said a rejection of the bill by the Constitutional
Council could open the door to questioning a law that penalises denial
of the Holocaust.

After being approved by the National Assembly and Senate, the law
was put on hold Tuesday after politicians opposed to the legislation
demanded that its constitutionality be examined.

Two separate groups of French politicians who oppose the legislation
— from both the Senate and the lower house — said they had formally
requested the Constitutional Council examine the law.

The groups said they each had gathered more than the minimum
60 signatures required to ask the council to test the law’s
constitutionality.

The council is obliged to deliver its judgement within a month,
but this can be reduced to eight days if the government deems the
matter urgent.

Turkey reacted furiously last week when the Senate approved the law,
which threatens with jail anyone in France who denies that the 1915
massacre of Armenians by Ottoman Turk forces amounted to genocide.

Ankara has already halted political and military cooperation with
France and was threatening to cut off economic and cultural ties if
the law took effect.

Despite government backing of the law, at least two ministers,
Foreign Minister Alain Juppe and Agriculture Minister Bruno Le Maire,
had spoken out against the bill.