Author: Kanayan Tamar

IRAN, ARMENIA PRESIDENTS EMPHASIZE PEACEFUL USE OF NUCLEAR ENERGY

IRNA
December 23, 2011
Yerevan

Yerevan, Dec 23, IRNA – Visiting Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
and Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, in a joint statement published
on Friday, emphasized on the right of all nations to use peaceful
nuclear energy.

The statement stressed that all nations should respect Nuclear
Non-proliferation Treaty and the international rules and regulations
on prohibition of spread of Weapons of Mass Destruction.

Referring to the talks between Iranian president and his Armenian
counterpart on the latest development in the Middle East and North
Africa, the statement stressed the importance of national unity amongst
people and asked regional governments to respect peoples’ demands.

“Iran nuclear issue should be resolved through diplomatic approach
and it has no solution other than diplomatic negotiation,” it said.

Washington and its Western allies accuse Iran of trying to develop
nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian nuclear program, while
they have never presented any corroborative evidence to substantiate
their allegations. Iran denies the charges and insists that its
nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.

Tehran stresses that the country has always pursued a civilian path
to provide power to the growing number of Iranian population, whose
fossil fuel would eventually run dry.

Despite the rules enshrined in the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)
entitling every member state, including Iran, to the right of uranium
enrichment, Tehran is now under four rounds of UN Security Council
sanctions for turning down West’s calls to give up its right of
uranium enrichment.

Tehran has dismissed the West’s demands as politically tainted and
illogical, stressing those sanctions and pressures merely consolidate
Iranians’ national resolve to continue the path.

The joint statement of Ahmadinejad and Sargsyan continued that ”
Iran and Armenia are ready for cooperation in the battle against
organized crimes and international terrorism; Tehran and Yerevan are
determined to expand bilateral relations in various fields including
development of peace and security in the region.

It underscored the execution of all agreements between the two
countries in the near future.

“Karabakh dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan should be resolute
in peaceful ways based on International rules and regulations,”
the statement noted.

Armenia and Azerbaijan remain officially at war over Karabakh and
the dispute is a major source of tension in the South Caucasus region
wedged between Iran, Russia and Turkey.

No country – not even Armenia – officially recognizes Karabakh as an
independent state.

The rebel region has been controlled by ethnic Armenians since
early 1990s.

Iran and Armenia singed five letters of understanding during the
official visit of Iranian delegation led by President Ahmadinejad to
Yerevan on Friday.

Tehran and Yerevan MoUs cover various fields of cooperation including
the construction of hydroelectric power plants on Aras dam, cooperation
between the Institute for Standards and Industrial Research of Iran and
the Armenian National Institute for Standards as well as cooperation
in the fields of social welfare, employment and environment protection.

President Ahmadinejad and Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan on Friday
held first round of talks on major topics concerning bilateral,
regional, and international issues.

President Ahmadinejad’s visit to Armenia takes place upon an invitation
by Armenian President Sargsyan and in line with expansion of bilateral
ties between two countries.

Supply of oil products to Armenia and construction of railways are
among main topics of discussion during President Ahmadinejad’s one-day
visit to Yerevan.

Trade stood at dlrs 270 million in 2010 between the two countries. The
figure rose up to dlrs 300 million in 2011.

Over the past 20 years, energy sector has played an important role
in Iran-Armenia trade relations.

Relations between Armenia and the Islamic Republic of Iran remain
extremely cordial and both Armenia and Iran are strategic partners
in the region. Armenia and Iran enjoy cultural and historical ties
that go back thousands of years. There are no border disputes between
the two countries and the Christian Armenian minority in Iran enjoys
official recognition.

In July, 2007, a memorandum was signed on the start of feasibility
studies on the ideas of building an Armenian-Iranian railway and a
Russian-owned oil refinery that would process Iranian crude.

The Armenian government is building a second, bigger highway leading
to the Iranian border in the hope of boosting trade with Iran.

The two countries have reached a preliminary agreement to make joint
TV serials. The joint venture would portray the social and cultural
life of Iran and Armenia and expand cinematic ties between the two
countries.

9191**1771 Islamic Republic News Agency/IRNA NewsCode: 30727578

Aliyev calls for re-establishment of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity

15:23 – 24.12.11

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has called for re-establishment of
his country’s territorial integrity, considering a requirement under
the UN Security Council resolutions.

”The settlement of the [Nagorno Karabakh] conflict is within the
domain of international law. It is necessary to ensure the
implementation of the UN Security Council resolutions. They all
require one thing – the re-establishment of Azerbaijan’s territorial
integrity. That’s our sovereign right,” he said, stressing the
importance of military operations to achieve such goal.

”We do have that right under the UN Charter, we just do not want to
resort [to such measures] now,” he added.

Tert.am

Davutoglu: Turkey to revise its Diaspora concept

14:25 – 24.12.11

Turkey reportedly renews its rhetoric that it applied within its
action plan against the Armenian Genocide.

According to Hurriyet Daily News, Ankara constitutes its action plan
on raising awareness in the international arena on overall incidents
of the World War I-era in a way that includes what all Ottoman people
suffered.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmed Davutoglu was quoted as saying that the
country would change its `concept of diaspora.

Turkey’s short-term action plan against Armenian resolutions and
long-term plans for the upcoming 100th year of the Genocide will be
reportedly discussed during the meetings of Turkish ambassadors, who
gathered in Ankara to review the country’s foreign policy, a
diplomatic source was quoted as telling the paper on Friday.

Ankara was also said to be concerned with Armenian initiatives in the
US because of the upcoming presidential election in the country.
Ankara would raise its voice against the bill `all around the world,’
Davutoglu said, adding that Turkey would decide whether to `sharpen or
ease’ measures against France.

Tert.am

LOI DE PENALISATION
Les jeunes Turcs s’en prennent à…des voitures Françaises…
actes « héroïques »

Après le vote de la loi de pénalisation de la négation des génocides,
les nationalistes Turcs devaient montrer leur force ! Pouvait-il en
être autrement ? L’honneur de la Turquie était en jeu ! Quatre jeunes
de la ville d’Aïntab en Turquie ont essayé de vandaliser te mettre le
feu à quatre voitures de marques françaises. Fort heureusement, les
policiers sont intervenus pour arrêter ces gestes. Mais en Allemagne
d’autres jeunes Turcs (décidément !) vandalisèrent à coups de hache et
de marteau des voitures françaises destinées toutefois à la casse.
Vieux réflexe dominateur qui casse ou génocide tout ce qui résiste et
entend « violence » pour le terme « démocratie ». Mais fort
heureusement l’ensemble du peuple turc n’est pas à mettre à la même
enseigne et espérons qu’il y en Turquie des voix qui condamneront ces
actes imbéciles dirigés contre la France. Une France qui serait mieux
inspirée de retirer ses chaînes de montages en Turquie et qui
fournissent des emplois à des milliers de travailleurs Turcs.

Krikor Amirzayan

samedi 24 décembre 2011,
Krikor Amirzayan ©armenews.com

news.az, Azerbaijan
Dec 22 2011

‘France is sorry for causing Armenian blood to be spilled’
Thu 22 December 2011 10:30 GMT | 12:30 Local Time

News.Az interviews Ergun Kirlikovali, president of the Assembly of
Turkish-American Associations and co-founder of the Pax Turcica
Institute.

How will the adoption of the bill on `Armenian genocide’ in the lower
chamber of the French parliament influence the Turkish-French
relations?

I am afraid there will be a wide range of reactions including but not
limited to diplomatic, economic, business, trade, social in nature.
Turkey is not the same country it was in 2001, when Turkish reactions
to France’s one sentence law recognizing the “alleged” Armenian
genocide were measured. Turkey is a regional power on its way to
becoming a global player with a steadily growing economy and
strengthening manufacturing sector and exports.

What is the cause of antipathy of the current leadership of France
toward Turkey?

Religious and ethnic bias. Pure and simple. These concepts are well
documented for America, by Justin McCarthy in his book “Turks In
America”, especially chapter 2, and one needs only to replace the
words America with France and Protestant with Catholic to see the
parallels in both societies. Deep rooted anti-Turkish bias is traced
back to 1096, when Pope Urban II called upon all Christians to join a
war against the Turks. Thus, the first crusader started from France.
Most folks got over it over the centuries, but some like Sarkozy, it
seems, could not. France’s role in using the Armenians against Turks
during 19th and 20th Centuries is well documented. The First World
War on the Eastern fronts were fought mostly on Ottoman/Turkish soil.

Turks did not bomb Marseille or Paris; the French bombed Dardanelles
and Antioch. Turks did not rain death and destruction on the French
people; the French invaded Turkish soil and rained death and
destruction on Turks. So who should recognize whose tragedy first?
Think about it… Turkey’s case during WWI may be one of the few
cases in the world, if not the only case, where the aggressor blames
the defender, and the villain impugns the victim, the haves accuse the
have-nots. Armenians took up arms against their own state and joined
the invading enemy armies.

What can be lower than that? Turks only defended their home in the
face of brutal foreign invasions aided by a heinous, treacherous,
treasonous fifth column involving numerous Armenians. France should
apologize to Turkey for invading Anatolia, raining death and
destruction on Turkish people, for dividing the Ottoman society along
ethno-religious lines, pitting one group against the other, and lying
about all of this for decades in their official propaganda “yellow
books.”

If one considers these points, one might realize that France has not
only Turkish blood, but also Armenian blood in her hands. This move by
the French Parliament might be convoluted way of saying “France is
sorry for causing Armenian blood to be spilled.” These are the
psychologies people like Sarkozy may be fighting with in their inner
worlds, whereas Turkish conscience is crystal clear on Turkish
history. Turks have always been, as France;s own Volatire famously
said, “moderate in peace and gentle in victory.”

Let’s get back to the bill. What can be the Turkish reaction to the
possible actions of the French law-makers?

Turkish Airlines (THY) is the fastest growing airlines in the world
with 170 planes, about half of them Franco-Gerrman Airbus aircraft.
THY’s purchase in the next decade exceed 100 billion dollars. There
are military contracts totaling more than even that. Mega
infra-structure projects amount to huge sums. Energy corridor
investments and implications are there. Turkey-France trade is about
$17 billion dollars and rising. There are about a thousand French
companies doing enormous amount of business. Turkey has a young and
vibrant population which makes it a major market as well as a
lucrative source of work force for EU.

As Arab Spring showed, Turkey’ importance in geographies ranging from
the Middle East to North Africa and from Balkans to Caucasus and
Central Asia is constantly growing. Turkey might decide to stop
sharing information and insight in this geography and even close its
airfiled to French aviation, both commercial and military. Some may
think so what, but if you look at all this from France’s point of
view, France will be the only nuclear power at the United Nations that
finds itself so deliberately isolated and incomplete. By taking
tacitly hostile steps against Turkey, although taking care not to
mention the name of the country, in 2011, 2006, and 2008, and now
poking its finger into Turkey’s eye, France may have actually designed
its own downfall in this vast geography. At a time when France is
battling credit-rating downgrade and the country is trying to cope
with shrinking economy and rising joblessness, this purely political
move by a politician with shallow grasp of real-politician, i.e.
Sarkozy, may go down in history as the case of “the man who shot
himself in the foot.”

How can the actions of the French parliamentarians influence the
Turkish-Armenian reconciliation?

French Senate influence on the normalization process of
Turkish-Armenian relations will be negative. This process, as you
know, already foresees the formation of a historians commission.
This in itself means there is a dispute that needs to be sorted out.
The French Senate seems to say “There is nothing to sort out. This is
genocide. And that’s that. No need to research this further.” This
kind of authoritarian, disciplinarian, and even fascist approach,
practically ending free speech, at least on this issue, is unbecoming
to French tradition of democracy. French Senate will be, in effect,
replacing history scholarship with legislation.

Can Azerbaijan provide any support to Turkey in resisting campaign of
Armenian lobby on passing the `genocide’ in the parliaments of other
countries?

Azerbaijan and Turkey must act together in all moves concerning
Armenia, ranging from the alleged genocide to Karabakh and its
surroundings. The world must see that they cannot separate the two
countries. Then they will realize that Azerbaijan, with her natural
energy resources and young and well educated population, and Turkey
dedicated to its Turkic heritage, a rising regional power, and an
energy corridor, are inseparable.

When a country decides to strike at one, they will find both countries
reacting strongly. That is already happening. We must stay the course
and pass the message that if you attack one of us, you attack both of
us. If you attack one of us, that means you will have energy
problems, regional presence difficulties, and trade and industry
deficiencies. If you attack one of us, you will pay for it dearly in
terms of lost markets, investments, and future.

F.H.
News.Az

Trend, Azerbaijan
Dec 23 2011

Turkish PM: Sarkozy against Turks and Muslims

23 December 2011, 13:28 (GMT+04:00) Azerbaijan, Baku, Dec. 23 / Trend
A.Badalova, A. Tagiyeva/

French President Nicolas Sarkozy is against the Turks and Muslims, TRT
Haber TV Channel quotes Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan as
saying.

“If Sarkozy is not aware of the Algerians’ genocide, he should ask his
father, who served in French legion in Algeria,” Erdogan said.

He said that Sarkozy is trying to promote his election campaign, by
provoking a conflict between the Christians and Muslims.

On Thursday, the French parliament adopted a bill criminalizing denial
of the so-called “Armenian Genocide”.

Some 45 out of 577 French MPs participated in the voting, 38 of which
voted for, while 7 voted against the adoption of the bill.

The bill envisages about one year imprisonment and a fine worth 45,000
euros for denial of the so-called “Armenian genocide”.

MPs from the French President’s “Union for Popular Movement” (UMP)
party which has the parliamentary majority, proposed a bill which aims
at criminalizing denial of the so-called “Armenian genocide” to the
legislative committee of the National Assembly in early December.

Armenia and the Armenian lobby claim that the predecessor of Turkey –
Ottoman Empire had committed the 1915 genocide against the Armenians
living in Anadolu, and achieved recognition of the “Armenian Genocide”
by the parliaments of some countries.

Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Dec 23 2011

Is the French bill hate speech regulation?

Advocates of the bill to criminalize the denial of the Armenian
`genocide’ introduced to the French Assemblee Nationale presume that
it intends to approximate the French criminal law provisions as
required by the EU Framework Decision 2008/913/JHA of Nov. 28, 2008 on
combating certain forms and expressions of racism and xenophobia by
means of criminal law.

The Framework Decision directly refers to the crimes of genocide
committed against the Jews during World War II and mandates that
speech acts that deny, minimize or trivialize the Holocaust crimes
defined by the Nuremberg Tribunal Article 6 of the Charter of the
International Military Tribunal (London Agreement of 1945) be
criminalized and punished.

The approximation of the national criminal law provisions should help
to combat racist and xenophobic offenses more effectively by promoting
a full and effective judicial cooperation between member states. It
is, however, doubtful whether the criminalization of the denial of the
Armenian `genocide’ will help to reduce racial, religious or ethnic
hatred in French society.

Those speaking on behalf of the Armenian community in France have been
trying, to no avail, to extend directly or indirectly the scope of the
Gayssot Act to the 1915 massacres. The Gayssot Act enacted on July 13,
1990 makes it an offense in France to question the existence or size
of the category of crimes against humanity committed against the Jews
in World War II. A first attempt took place in 2003. On Oct. 12, 2006
the Assemblee Nationale voted the law but it has never been brought on
the agenda of the Senate. More recently the Senate rejected a similar
bill May 4, 2011.

Armenians in France are perfectly well integrated into French society
and are not facing any form of discrimination comparable to what
resulted from anti-Semitism. It is generally questionable whether a
legislative body should be allowed to look beyond the walls of its own
society: Its focus should be on the historical accounts of ethnic,
racial and religious violence, genocide and discriminatory practices
that have occurred within the jurisdiction of the state in which it
operates. On the European continent, a society’s treatment of its Jews
has become throughout history a paradigm for how it will treat all
minorities.

In 2006, a group of 56 law professors at French universities had
questioned seriously the constitutionality of memorial laws which
infringe upon freedom of expression, of conducting historical research
and being based on a community-based approach violate the principles
of equality as defined in the French Constitution. Furthermore, such
kind of legislation impedes the process by which history is recorded
by a society and undermines the strength of the evidence in the
historical record. Renowned historian Pierre Vidal-Naquet, who lost
his parents in Auschwitz, and the French Holocaust survivor,
politician and lawyer Simone Veil opposed the Gayssot Act. Back in
2006 Hrant Dink opposed the law brought to French Parliament and
publicly said he would be the first to go and deny it on French soil.

A robust debate about what really happened in 1915 is warranted. The
realization of history blurs the evidence of the facts of the
accounts: Freedom of speech has to be encouraged and research in
history emancipated from politics. It should make much more sense from
a French-Armenian perspective to bring the issue of the regulation of
hate speech to the agenda of the Turkish government.

Burcu Gültekin Punsmann is a senior foreign policy analyst at TEPAV.
December/23/2011

Turkish Press
Dec 23 2011

Turkey cuts contacts with France over bill

Published: 12/23/2011

Turkey announced it cancelled bilateral military and economic
cooperation and suspended all bilateral political consultation with
France, describing the French vote as doing politics via racism and
xenophobia ahead of presidential elections. `This is the first state
[of measures against France]. New measures could be brought to the
agenda and implemented according to progress of the bill in France,’
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said yesterday in a joint press
conference with his Ukrainian counterpart.

Erdogan blamed the French leader of trying to `gain favor over
Turcophobia and Islamophobia in general terms just for individual
ambitions.’ The prime minister said they would travel to other
countries in the world and tell of the `genocides’ carried out by
France, which the country had tried to make forgotten. As a reaction
to Paris’ vote, Erdogan said Turkey recalled its ambassador to France.
`From now on, we cancel all bilateral military and economic visits,
including courses, seminars and personnel exchange activities,’
Erdogan said. Turkey would not cooperate with France in projects of
the EU, he said. Ankara suspended all political consultations and
cancelled bilateral military activities and joint military exercises,
he said. Turkey also cancelled blanket permission for flyovers,
takeoffs and landings of French military flights, Turkey’s premier
said, but individual permission would be applied. Erdogan announced
Turkey cancelled permissions of port visits by military ships. Turkey
would not participate in a bilateral economic and trade partnership
meeting in 2012, he said. The prime minister thanked prudent French
politicians who rejected the bill. `We hope they would not go a way
with no return,’ he said.

TURKEY CONDEMNS APPROVAL OF GENOCIDE BILL BY FRENCH PARLIAMENT

Turkey has strongly condemned the approval of a bill criminalizing the
denial of alleged Armenian genocide at the French National Assembly
yesterday. A statement released by Turkish Foreign Ministry said that
the initiative defamed Turkish history on the basis of one-sided
interpretations and aimed to deprive Turkey from its right to defend
itself against this injustice. The statement described it as an unjust
and inappropriate bill which contradicted relevant rules of the
international law, adding that it is extremely unfortunate that such a
serious issue is abused for electoral purposes in spite of all the
demarches, friendly and constructive warnings conveyed to France, as
well as promises previously received. “This bill constitutes a grave
example of politicization of history for the sake of narrow political
calculations and stifling of freedom of expression by a democratic
institution. France has thus preferred to ignore the universal values
which it had a share in developing,” the statement said. The statement
stressed that the bill restricted freedom of expression of all
scholars and researchers researching the historical events from
different perspectives, adding that it contradicts the international
law, European norms, the reports of the French Parliament itself and
the earlier official declarations made by French government on the
issue.

FLAUTRE CRITICIZES FRENCH BILL

Helene Flautre, Co-chair of the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary
Committee, defined the bill penalizing denial of Armenian ‘`genocide,’
which was approved by French assembly yesterday, as `disgusting.’
Flautre described the move displayed by French President Nicolas
Sarkozy as a `simple maneuver towards the elections,’ adding, `I’m
quite angry with Sarkozy and his government. They are using people’s
sorrows in order to be elected.’ Reiterating that France is against
Turkey’s EU membership, Flautre said that Sarkozy had a `hostile
attitude’ against Turkey. `None of the countries, particularly
France, is in a position to give history lesson to another country,’
adding, `Turkey is at the stage of taking steps to face its own
history. An atmosphere allowing everybody to express his opinion is
necessary towards this end. This resolution will hinder this. When the
bill was previously discussed in France, Hrant Dink said to me that he
would deny the genocide at the Concorde Square. He was protecting
freedom of thought and expression. Now I understand him better.’
Flautre further stated that history should not be judged by
politicians, but by academics and historians.

PIERINI EXPRESSES CONCERNS OVER FRENCH BILL

While the bill penalizing denial of alleged Armenian genocide was
being voted at French Parliament, Marc Pierini, Head of Delegation of
the European Union to Turkey, said that history should not be
rewritten by national parliaments. `As an EU diplomat, I cannot
comment on the bill which is currently being voted. I hope this
situation won’t affect relations between Turkey and the EU,’ Pierini
said prior to his farewell visit to EU Minister and Chief Negotiator
Egemen Bagis on the occasion of completing his five-year term of
office in Turkey.123 TURKEY CUTS CONTACTS WITH FRANCE OVER BILL

Turkey announced it cancelled bilateral military and economic
cooperation and suspended all bilateral political consultation with
France, describing the French vote as doing politics via racism and
xenophobia ahead of presidential elections. `This is the first state
[of measures against France]. New measures could be brought to the
agenda and implemented according to progress of the bill in France,’
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said yesterday in a joint press
conference with his Ukrainian counterpart. Erdogan blamed the French
leader of trying to `gain favor over Turcophobia and Islamophobia in
general terms just for individual ambitions.’ The prime minister said
they would travel to other countries in the world and tell of the
`genocides’ carried out by France, which the country had tried to
make forgotten. As a reaction to Paris’ vote, Erdogan said Turkey
recalled its ambassador to France. `From now on, we cancel all
bilateral military and economic visits, including courses, seminars
and personnel exchange activities,’ Erdogan said. Turkey would not
cooperate with France in projects of the EU, he said. Ankara suspended
all political consultations and cancelled bilateral military
activities and joint military exercises, he said. Turkey also
cancelled blanket permission for flyovers, takeoffs and landings of
French military flights, Turkey’s premier said, but individual
permission would be applied. Erdogan announced Turkey cancelled
permissions of port visits by military ships. Turkey would not
participate in a bilateral economic and trade partnership meeting in
2012, he said. The prime minister thanked prudent French politicians
who rejected the bill. `We hope they would not go a way with no
return,’ he said.

PARIS UNDER FIRE FOR ITS APPROVAL OF GENOCIDE DENIAL BILL

Today’s Zaman

Dec 23 2011
Turkey

Criticisms and reactions have rained down on France in the wake of
a vote in the French Parliament on Thursday that made it a crime to
deny that the World War I-era mass killings of Armenians was genocide,
with many accusing the country of greatly damaging its commitment to
freedom of speech and acting with political motivations.

Despite strong protests by Turkey, French lawmakers in the National
Assembly — the lower house of parliament — voted overwhelmingly in
favor of the bill, which will now be debated next year in the senate.

The bill makes denial of the alleged Armenian genocide a crime
punishable by a one-year prison sentence and a fine of 45,000 euros.

Hélène Flautre, the co-chairperson of the EU-Turkey Joint
Parliamentary Committee, slammed the French genocide law as being not
“useful” and said the law came into being as a result of political
motivations. “It is not a useful law. It is a result of the pressure
of an internal political agenda in the context of presidential
elections. It is a waste of time, and it will put in danger the
work of intellectuals in particular in Turkey,” she said. She said
she strongly disagrees with the French National Assembly and to pass
judgment on history is the job of academics and historians, not that
of political institutions.

“I always have in mind what the late [Turkish-Armenian journalist]
Hrant Dink used to say. As a Turkish-Armenian who believed in the
genocide, he used to say that he would go to Paris and deny the
Armenian genocide if the French parliament would accept it. It is
purely an electoral and mediatic coup,” she said. Flautre still voiced
her hope that the law would not be adopted in the French senate.

“It still needs to go through the senate and be signed by the
president. I have colleagues in the French senate who are trying to
block it. We will see. The battle is not over yet,” she said. Another
reaction to the French law from the European Parliament was voiced
by European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party (ELDR) President and
EP member Graham Watson. Watson criticized the French genocide law,
saying it is a violation of freedom of speech and will make France
regret its passage in the future. “I am not sure criminalizing
identification with certain events that are often very difficult to
prove historically is a good way forward. If you are Germany, you
wish to criminalize praise of the Holocaust, of course. Everybody
understands. We managed to avoid such actions in Britain, partly
because it is against freedom of expression but also something that
limits academic debate. I suspect the French may come to regret such
a decision. This is not a matter of criminal law but of historians,”
Watson told Today’s Zaman.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) also
expressed concerns on the approval of the French law on Thursday. OSCE
Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatovic said: “I
fully acknowledge the humanitarian intentions of those members of the
National Assembly who authored and supported this proposal. However,
I believe that the final adoption of these legal amendments would
raise serious concerns with regard to international standards of
freedom of expression.”

“Furthermore, it could set a precedent internationally for politically
construed, ad-hoc criminalization of public debates. Criminalization
of debates on history’s true course, even of obviously false and
offensive statements about a nation’s tragic moment, is not conducive
to a better understanding among people, communities and authorities
of OSCE participating states.”

Mijatovic also said she feared the passing of this law by a nation
with a great history of press freedom might prompt other countries in
the OSCE region to follow France’s example and similarly criminalize
historical statements in violation of their OSCE commitments that
aim at encouraging a free discussion on issues of public interest.

Mijatovic said she hoped the French senate would defeat the bill.

Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Secretary-General Ekmeleddin
Ä°hsanoglu also directed harsh criticisms at France over its approval
of the genocide bill, calling it “nonsense.”

Ä°hsanoglu said France was in a “paradoxical contradiction,”
championing freedom of expression on the one hand while passing
legislation to ban debate on a “claim regarding history.” “The OIC
rejects this nonsense,” Ä°hsanoglu told the Anatolia news agency
on the sidelines of an OIC meeting in Ä°stanbul on Friday. “There
are three principles at the core of the French Republic: liberty,
equality and fraternity. To me, this legislation inflicts harm on
at least two of them.” Ä°hsanoglu also lambasted what he called an
“unacceptable contradiction” in Europe over freedom of expression,
saying caricatures insulting the Prophet Muhammad are defended in the
name of free speech while such a bill could be enacted in the French
parliament. “When you criticize those who insult others, our Prophet
and sacred values, we are told that this is freedom of expression.

When someone draws uncivilized caricatures about our most sacred
values, no punishment is considered because they say it is an issue of
freedom of expression. Now, the same people who defend these [insults
and caricatures] pass a bill to punish those who do not accept this
claim about history,” Ä°hsanoglu said. “This is undisputedly an
unacceptable contradiction.”

Scientists, not parliaments, can write history, says Lewy Professor
Guenter Lewy, author, political scientist and professor emeritus
at the University of Massachusetts, said the French parliament has
no right to judge history. Lewy, author of “The Armenian Massacres
in Ottoman Turkey: A Disputed Genocide,” said historians — not the
French parliament — can write the history. He said the French made
a big mistake by passing such a law because there is no legal ground
for the Armenian genocide. In a telephone interview with Today’s
Zaman, Lewy said he has devoted 52 years of his life to studying
genocide and came up with the conclusion that the incidents of 1915
are not tantamount to genocide. He said history can be written with
the consensus of scientists and documents, not through the decisions
of parliaments. Some Armenians and others say 1.5 million Anatolian
Armenians were killed in a systematic campaign of genocide during
World War I. Turkey says the figures are inflated and insists that the
killings occurred as the Ottoman Empire was trying to quell an uprising
of Armenians, who revolted against Ottoman rule for independence,
in collaboration with the Russian army, which was then invading
Eastern Anatolia.

Renowned French photographer Eric Bouvet described the genocide law
as a game for French politicians, while adding that the French public
actually does not care much about Armenians.

He said the only thing French people know about Armenians is the word
“Aznavour,” and the genocide bill is the work of a French minority
who are under the influence of the Armenian diaspora.

Andreas Trampe, a photo editor at the well-known German magazine Stern,
also said it is wrong to judge a nation by its past. He said Germans
are not very interested in the Armenian issue, and if there is a need
to confront history, countries should do this themselves.

SARKOZY DEFENDS VOTE, CALLS ON TURKEY TO RESPECT FRENCH VIEWS

Today’s Zaman
Dec 23 2011
Turkey

French President Nicolas Sarkozy urged Turkey on Friday to respect
its views after Ankara suspended political and economic contact with
Paris in protest of a bill passed by the French parliament Thursday
that criminalizes denial of Armenian genocide claims.

“I respect [the] beliefs of our Turkish friends. Turkey is a great
country, great civilization, but the Turks should also respect our
beliefs,” Sarkozy told the French press on the sidelines of a funeral
for former Czech President Vaclav Havel in Prague. His remarks were
published in Turkish by the Anatolia news agency.

“France does not teach anyone a lesson, but it does not want to
be taught a lesson either. France sets its policies in a sovereign
matter,” he added, asserting that his country does not need permission
from other states when deciding its policies. “France has beliefs
and respect for human rights, memories,” he said.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said in his Twitter feed
on Friday that Turkey has respect to beliefs but he added that it
is backward to turn historical interpretations and intellectual
discussions into dogmatic belief.

Turkey categorically rejects charges of genocide, saying deaths
occurred on both sides when Anatolian Armenians revolted against the
Ottoman Empire for independence during World War I in collaboration
with the invading Russian army. Turkish leaders vowed to bring to the
fore French atrocities in Algeria and other countries on international
platforms after Thursday’s vote.

Turkey is already frustrated with Sarkozy because of his staunch
opposition to its stalled European Union bid and his apparent rivalry
with Turkey for a preeminent role in Middle Eastern politics.