TURKEY LASHES OUT AT FRENCH TEXTBOOK CHAPTERS FEATURING ‘ARMENIAN GENOCIDE’
Today’s Zaman
Aug 27 2012
Turkey
Turkey’s ambassador in Paris has criticized French move to include
chapters in history and geography textbooks that will allow students
to study mass killings of Armenians at the hands of Ottomans in
1915, claiming that the project is a remnant of the previous French
president.
Tahsin Burcuoglu told private Cihan news agency that Turkey is
disturbed by the fact that the French Education Ministry is including
chapters on the so-called Armenian genocide in textbooks for fourth
graders in secondary schools.
Turkish daily Sabah reported on Sunday that French President Francois
Hollande’s administration included a chapter about the 1915 events in
textbooks — a move that could once again upset relations with Turkey,
which was hopeful about rebuilding strained ties with Paris following
the election of the new president.
The report said French students studying world history since 1910
will also read a chapter called “The Armenian Genocide.”
Hollande said last month that he will stand by a campaign pledge
to make it illegal to deny that the killing of Armenians by Ottoman
Turks in 1915 was genocide.
Relations between Paris and Ankara had begun to thaw after a decision
in February by France’s constitutional court to strike down the
genocide denial law as contrary to free speech.
Turkey had canceled all economic, political and military meetings
with France in December after the French parliament voted in favor
of the draft law.
Burcuoglu said France’s initiative to include ‘Armenian genocide’
chapters in textbooks has “angered” Turkey, underlining that it is
not the three-month project but a remnant of former French President
Nicolas Sarkozy administration.
Noting that it is not the first time that the issue is included in
French textbooks but this time he said textbooks are featuring full
two-page explanation of the 1915 events along with photos. He added
that the embassy is carefully investigating that developments and
have already notified Ankara over the matter.
At a joint news conference early in July, French Foreign Minister
Laurent Fabius said the genocide-denial law was unlikely to be
resurrected and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu hailed the
opening of a warmer phase in relations with France.
Armenia, backed by many historians, says about 1.5 million Armenians
were killed in what is now eastern Turkey during World War I in a
deliberate policy of genocide ordered by the Ottoman government.
Turkey says there was heavy loss of life on both sides during the
fighting, in which Armenian partisans supported invading Russian
forces. The Ottoman Empire collapsed after the war. Successive Turkish
governments and the vast majority of Turks feel the charge of genocide
is an insult to their nation.
Turkey hoped Hollande’s election might mean France is more open to its
joining the European Union than under his conservative predecessor
Sarkozy, but has so far received no public support for its EU bid
from Paris.
Burcuoglu said Turkey will determine its position on this issue after
further examination and urged Turks living in France not to remain
indifferent to the issue.
Saying that the number of ethnic Turks in France is more than French
Armenians, the ambassador cited problems Turkish students faced in
schools earlier over this matter.