Documentation: Turkey - Armenian Genocide

[ozgurluk at xs4all.nl]

26 May, 1998

Turkey to continue efforts to kill French Socialists' 'Armenian
genocide' draft law

<..>
 
 Nazlan Ertan

Paris - Turkish Daily News

Just at the moment when both the French and the Turks boasted of a
"peak in bilateral ties," the proposal of a draft law on the "Armenian
genocide" from the French Socialists has cast its shadow on relations,
spurring letter-writing between capitals and last-minute lobbying
efforts

  NEWS ANALYSIS

A proposal made by a group of Socialist deputies for legislation on
the "Armenian genocide" -- a rare occurrence, given that it is usually
the government, not Parliament, which proposes laws -- comes at an
unexpected time as far as Turco-French ties are concerned. The two
countries have signed a landmark agreement, "France-Turkey 2000," and
are presently working on action plans for middle-range common
objectives. French diplomats and politicians repeatedly call for
overcoming the deadlock in Turco-European Union ties caused by the
Luxembourg summit's curt refusal to include Turkey in the EU's
enlargement plans. Turkey's European vocation -- a term used
frequently by Gaullist President Chirac and his Socialist cabinet of
cohabitation -- is not only supported by government circles but also
by the very visible French business groups operating in Turkey. The
extent of the French support has drawn an angry reaction from Greece
earlier this month -- to which Paris responded with an official
protest. The blossoming in ties was sealed by Turkish President
Suleyman Demirel's state visit earlier this year.

Given this backdrop, the "Armenian draft law" has the effect of a cold
shower. "It is my hope that everyone is aware of the severe blow this
initiative will deliver to the ties," said Turkey's Ambassador to
France, Sonmez Koksal, as he left the office of Parliament Speaker
Laurent Fabius having delivered to the Socialist deputy a letter from
his Turkish counterpart, also a Social Democrat. French Prime Minister
Lionel Jospin also received a letter from Turkish Prime Minister Mesut
Yilmaz on Wednesday.

Ambassador Koksal said that he would continue to emphasize the
negative effects of such a draft on ties vis-a-vis "circles close to
Turkey." While he would not elaborate as to who those circles would
include, the Turkish and Turco-French associations and civil groups in
France have been vocally against the resolution. According to
observers, various business groups would also be mobilized. Asked
whether he would have contact with Jewish groups -- who generally
object to the use of the term genocide in reference to the killings of
Armenians between 1915 and 1921 -- the Ambassador remained silent. He
also said that he would meet the Secretary-General of the French
Foreign Ministry, Bertrand Dufurcq. The French Foreign Ministry, which
traditionally says that it falls on historians to determine whether a
genocide has taken place, is reserved towards the proposal.

"I want to maintain the belief that such a blow will not be
delivered," Ambassador Koksal said. Yet, his task appears a difficult
one: two key figures of the Socialist Party in Parliament, Speaker
Fabius and Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Jack Lang,
have in the past expressed their solidarity with the Armenian people
and maintained that a "genocide" had indeed taken place. The two
statesmen also have been tough critics of the EU's rapprochement with
Turkey. Asked about Fabius's response, Koksal said that he understood
that the Parliament speaker was not in a position to comment on the
independent will of the Parliament.

Moreover, deputies from other parties, such as ethnic Armenian deputy,
Patrick Devedjian, from Rally for the Republic, may also vote in favor
of the draft. The draft must then be taken up in the Senate, and
finally, signed by the President -- provided it does not eventually
become a simple Parliamentary recommendation. The first debate,
scheduled for May 29, is merely the initiation of a process
reminiscent of the debate on the infamous Armenian Resolution in the
U.S. Congress.

-- 
Press Agency Ozgurluk
For justice, democracy and human rights in Turkey and Kurdistan!
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