Arınç calls on France to open its archives
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
ANKARA - TDN Parliament Bureau
Parliament Speaker Bülent Arınç called on France on Tuesday to open its archives as Turkey has in response to Armenian allegations of genocide, in an apparent reference to Algerian killings under French colonial rule.
Arınç made his remarks at Parliament while opening the exhibition “Living Together under the Same Firmament,” on the occasion of the 160th anniversary of the start of the register of Ottoman archives. Archive documents from the Ottoman Empire are being displayed at the exhibition.
“Open your archives as we have done. Show the whole world what you have done in the countries which you once ruled. We'll see then whether you have given peace and calm to all people of different religions and ethnicities or did something else,” Arınç said.
The French National Assembly infuriated Turkey last month by backing a bill making it a crime to deny that Armenians were victims of “genocide” at the hands of the Ottoman Empire, though it is unlikely to become a law due to opposition from the Senate and President Jacques Chirac. Ankara said the legislation would strike a heavy blow to Turkish-French ties and also accused France, one of the European Union's founding countries known for championing liberties, of staining freedom of expression with the bill it adopted.
Slamming the bill, the Turkish Parliament then released a joint declaration signed by all parties in Parliament and said the bill was motivated by calculations of domestic political gain. They said the bill would also harm prospects for the normalization of relations between Turkey and Armenia.
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül, addressing the special session before the declaration was read out, said France stood at a “historic crossroads” and would chose between “becoming the country of Voltaire and Montesquieu or following a colonialist tradition” when it decides whether or not to go ahead with the controversial bill.
The historical documents at the exhibition show the Ottoman Empire's tolerant approach towards non-Muslim and other minorities, Arınç also said: “This exhibition shows how freedoms were granted to every religion, every language and every race in our lands while Europe was still living in the darkness of the Inquisition, with people burnt at the stake just for being of different religions or sects.”
Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.
ANKARA - TDN Parliament Bureau
Parliament Speaker Bülent Arınç called on France on Tuesday to open its archives as Turkey has in response to Armenian allegations of genocide, in an apparent reference to Algerian killings under French colonial rule.
Arınç made his remarks at Parliament while opening the exhibition “Living Together under the Same Firmament,” on the occasion of the 160th anniversary of the start of the register of Ottoman archives. Archive documents from the Ottoman Empire are being displayed at the exhibition.
“Open your archives as we have done. Show the whole world what you have done in the countries which you once ruled. We'll see then whether you have given peace and calm to all people of different religions and ethnicities or did something else,” Arınç said.
The French National Assembly infuriated Turkey last month by backing a bill making it a crime to deny that Armenians were victims of “genocide” at the hands of the Ottoman Empire, though it is unlikely to become a law due to opposition from the Senate and President Jacques Chirac. Ankara said the legislation would strike a heavy blow to Turkish-French ties and also accused France, one of the European Union's founding countries known for championing liberties, of staining freedom of expression with the bill it adopted.
Slamming the bill, the Turkish Parliament then released a joint declaration signed by all parties in Parliament and said the bill was motivated by calculations of domestic political gain. They said the bill would also harm prospects for the normalization of relations between Turkey and Armenia.
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül, addressing the special session before the declaration was read out, said France stood at a “historic crossroads” and would chose between “becoming the country of Voltaire and Montesquieu or following a colonialist tradition” when it decides whether or not to go ahead with the controversial bill.
The historical documents at the exhibition show the Ottoman Empire's tolerant approach towards non-Muslim and other minorities, Arınç also said: “This exhibition shows how freedoms were granted to every religion, every language and every race in our lands while Europe was still living in the darkness of the Inquisition, with people burnt at the stake just for being of different religions or sects.”
Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.
posted by Vahe Balabanian at 12:05 PM
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