French genocide bill angers Turkey
20 December 2011 Last updated at 11:24 ET
French genocide bill angers Turkey
Turkish President Abdullah Gul (9 Dec 2011) The Turkish president warned that France was jeopardising centuries of friendship
Turkish President Abdullah Gul has called on France to halt plans for a law criminalising the denial of the mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks during World War I as genocide.
The French lower house of parliament is due to consider a bill that proposes a one-year prison term and a heavy fine.
Turkey has warned of irreparable damage to ties if the legislation is passed.
Armenians say up to 1.5 million people died during mass deportations. Turkey puts the figure at closer to 300,000.
Ankara says Turks were also killed when Armenians rose up against the Ottoman Empire during World War I when Russian troops invaded eastern Anatolia, now eastern Turkey.
‘Grave consequences’
In a statement, President Gul said the proposed legislation, set to go before the National Assembly on Thursday, denied Turkey the freedom to reject “unfair and groundless accusations”.
He also suggested that France was jeopardising centuries of friendship because of “small political calculations”.
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Turkey and the Armenians
Hundreds of thousands of ethnic Armenians died during mass deportations by Ottoman Turks in 1915-6
More than 20 countries say it was genocide
Turkey and some historians say it was part of widespread turmoil in World War I in which Muslims also died
Estimated 500,000 ethnic Armenians now in France
Turkey closed Armenia border in 1993 because of conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh
Turkey signed 2009 deal with Armenia to examine 1915 killings and open borders: ratified by neither side
A delegation of Turkish MPs and businessmen has travelled to Paris to lobby against the bill and was due to meet Mr Sarkozy’s diplomatic adviser, Jean-David Levitte, and French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe.
Last week, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan wrote to French President Nicolas Sarkozy warning him that bill was “hostile” and directly targeted Turkey and Turks living in France.