Armenian, Assyrian and Hellenic Genocide News

Turkish parliament mulls steps against France
by Reuters
Posted: Sunday, January 28, 2001 08:20 pm CST

ANKARA, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Turkey's nationalist government coalition partner said on Wednesday it would propose a bill providing for swift sanctions against countries whose parliaments accuse Turks of genocide against Armenians.

The bill, sponsored by the Nationalist Action Party (MHP), follows a French parliamentary vote last week recognising claims that Ottoman Turks systematically massacred 1.5 million Armenians in 1915. A similar bill was passed by the European parliament and resolutions have been before the Italian and U.S. legislatures.

An official of the Motherland Party, coalition partner of the MHP, said the Turkish Parliament would also consider a separate bill accusing France of conducting genocide against Algerians during the collapse of colonial rule there.

Turkey angrily rejects genocide allegations, arguing that both Armenians and Turks suffered losses during clashes at the onset of World War One.

The new law would arm cabinet with power to invoke swift counter-measures against nations that formally condemn Turkey, the state-run Anatolian news agency said.

Sanctions would include barring those countries from lucrative public tender offers, curbing the exchange of goods and services and downgrading political and cultural relations.

Turkey on Tuesday said it had cancelled a $259 million satellite contract with France-based Alcatel and may exclude French state-owned arms maker GIAT >From a tank tender, worth some $7.1 billion.

Ankara on Thursday recalled its ambassador from Paris for consultations. France is a NATO ally and a member of the European Union, which Turkey aims to join.

The United States Congress abandoned a "genocide" resolution, promoted by Armenian pressure groups, last year after the intervention of President Bill Clinton. A motion, which carries less force than a bill, has been passed by the Italian parliament.

Parliament will also consider a separate draft bill accusing France of carrying out genocide in Algeria during its rule over the north African nation, the deputy leader of the Motherland Party said on Wednesday.

"The parliament recognises and condemns the genocide that France carried out in Algeria between 1954 and 1962," said MP Bulent Akarcali in a statement.

Deputies from the main opposition Virtue Party on Wednesday also tabled a motion to formally recognise the killings of Algerians as genocide.

It is not clear when parliament would vote on the measures.

The European Parliament late last year passed a non-binding measure accusing Turks of genocide.

The U.S. Congress dropped a resolution on the same issue after former President Bill Clinton warned it would threaten U.S. interests in the Middle East.

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