FRANCE: Turkish citizens living in Europe take to the streets in Paris to voice their opposition against a French bill making it illegal to deny the 1915 mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks

Record ID: 327677

  • Title: FRANCE: Turkish citizens living in Europe take to the streets in Paris to voice their opposition against a French bill making it illegal to deny the 1915 mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks
  • Date: 22nd January 2012
  • Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (JANUARY 21, 2012) (REUTERS) DEMONSTRATORS WITH TURKISH FLAGS GATHERED FOR RALLY TURKISH FLAG VARIOUS OF DEMONSTRATORS (SOUNDBITE) (French) FRENCH CITIZEN OF TURKISH ORIGIN MR TADJI, SAYING: "It's the historians which have to do research in the two countries, not just one country. The member of parliament which has proposed the bill went to Armenia, very well, but why did she never go to Ankara to have a look at the Turkish archives? That's why we are demonstrating. Whether it happened or did not happen (an Armenian genocide by Ottoman Turks), this is another debate and we can debate about this another day. But it is not for the members of parliament or the senate to do it through a vote." POSTER READING "NO TO THE GENOCIDE OF TRUTH" VARIOUS OF DEMONSTRATION POSTER READING "NO TO THE CRIMINALISATION, YES TO FREEDOM OF SPEECH" DEMONSTRATORS GATHERED
  • Embargoed: 6th February 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: France, France
  • Country: France
  • Topics: Crime,International Relations,History,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA9L0ZSCVYKRXIGWR73Z47J376T
  • Story Text: More than a hundred Turkish citizens from various European countries took to the streets in Paris on Saturday (January 21, 2012) ahead of a vote in the French parliament of a bill making it illegal to deny the 1915 mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks.
    Lawmakers in the lower-house National Assembly voted overwhelmingly last month in favour of a draft law outlawing genocide denial. That prompted Ankara to cancel all economic, political and military meetings with Paris and briefly recall its ambassador for consultations.
    NATO member Turkey, which sees the charge of genocide as a national insult, has warned it will take further action against Paris if the bill is approved.
    A Senate panel this week said it would be unconstitutional for France to make it illegal to deny the mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks. It said that if the bill passed it would violate statutes including one on freedom of speech.
    However, the non-binding recommendation will not stop the vote going ahead on Jan. 23, with the Senate leaders of President Nicolas Sarkozy's UMP party and the opposition Socialists saying they would vote in favour of the bill.
    The law is expected to be passed, although Turkey has been lobbying aggressively over the last few weeks for senators to back down with suggestions that the result in the Senate will be closer than originally anticipated.
    Turkey calls the bill a bid by Sarkozy to win the votes of 500,000 ethnic Armenians in France in a two-round presidential vote on April 22 and May 6. It says it curbs freedom of speech and meddles in matters best left to historians.
    "It's the historians which have to do research in the two countries, not just one country. The member of parliament which has proposed the bill went to Armenia, very well, but why did she never go to Ankara to have a look at the Turkish archives? That's why we are demonstrating. Whether it happened or did not happen (an Armenian genocide by Ottoman Turks), this is another debate and we can debate about this another day. But it is not for the members of parliament or the senate to do it through a vote," said Tadji, a French national of Turkish origin.
    The protest was expected to get bigger as more demonstrators were seen arriving on Saturday.
    Sarkozy wrote a letter to Erdogan this week saying the bill did not single out any particular country and that France was aware of the "suffering endured by the Turkish people" during the final years of the Ottoman empire.
    Turkey argues there was heavy loss of life on all sides, not only among Armenians, during fighting in the region.
    European Union candidate Turkey could not impose economic sanctions on France, given its World Trade Organisation membership and customs union accord with Europe.
    But the spat could cost France state-to-state contracts and would create diplomatic tensions as Turkey takes an increasingly influential role in the Middle East.
    END
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