Armenian, Assyrian and Hellenic Genocide News

Turkish press questions Ankara's strategy after French genocide bill
by Agence France Presse - January 31, 2001
Posted: Friday, February 02, 2001 02:01 am CST

ANKARA, Jan 31 -- The Turkish press on Wednesday harshly criticized French president Jacques Chirac for approving a bill recognising the Armenian genocide, and questioned what strategy Ankara should follow to prevent this thorny issue from rising up again in other countries.

"Chirac's signature has destroyed Turco-French friendship," said the mass-circulation Hurriyet daily.

Turkey on Tuesday threatened political and economic reprisals after Chirac signed the controversial bill recognising as genocide the killings of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire during World War I.

The bill was passed by French legislators on January 18, after which a furious Turkey recalled its ambassador for consultations.

Hurriyet suggested that it was now time for the French ambassador to Turkey to go back home.

The newspaper estimated that the genocide bill would cost France some eight billion dollars if Turkey makes good on its threat to kick French companies out of military tenders, while political ties and bilateral visits would also be reduced to a minimum

The liberal Milliyet newspaper, meanwhile, condemned France for intervening in Turkish history rather than dealing with its own past, namely its role during Algeria's war of independence.

"France should face its own history," the daily said.

An editorial in the mass-circulation Sabah newspaper, meanwhile suggested that Ankara should adopt a new strategy to deal with the genocide question.

"We should find more creative means to break this circle of hostility around Turkey. We saw that criticism and threats do not yield results," Gungor Mengi wrote.

"Will opposition to the West and the danger of being closed off facilitate those who want to see an isolated Turkey? The only way to take revenge is to strengthen our democracy and economy," he added.

A columnist for Milliyet, Sami Kohen, underlined that the bill will cause bilateral tension, block cooperation and shake mutual trust, but added that Turkey should select counter-measures with care.

"What is important is to envisage the Armenian question from a broader perspective, and not just the French move, and develop long-term strategies," he said.

"Turkey cannot pick a fight with every country which tends to recognise the Armenian genocide. Turkey cannot tie its foreign relations solely to the Armenian question," Kohen added.

But an editorial in the liberal Radikal daily predicted that that the deterioration of ties with France would inevitable affect Turkey's ties with the European Union, which granted Ankara special candidate status in December 1999.

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