Ankara concerned over EU plans for Genocide legislation
26.03.2007
Today's Zaman
By Süleyman Kurt, Murat Aydın Ankara
The draft legislation was an issue in Justice Minister Cemil Çiçek's talks in Berlin last week and is expected to be debated at a Cabinet meeting today. Çiçek will brief members of the government in detail concerning possible unfavorable results of the resolution for Turkey if it is eventually adopted. Germany, which took the helm of the EU presidency as of Jan. 1, has been working on the draft since the end of last year. The draft, which has been supported by the Armenian lobby, would bring up to three years of imprisonment for those who deny "genocides and war crimes committed against humanity." Çiçek, who held talks in Germany last week, discussed the issue with his counterpart, Brigitte Zypries, and expressed Ankara's concerns over the draft.
According to the draft, crimes of racism, xenophobia and denial of genocide will be included in the joint legislation, which is binding for all member countries. If the draft is adopted, any decision by a national court or a national parliament of an EU member country which would make it a crime to deny that Armenians were victims of "genocide" at the hands of the Ottoman Empire, would open the way for imprisonment for dismissing the genocide charges in other EU member countries.
Germany's goal is taking the draft on agenda of a meeting of Justice and Home Affairs Council before July 1 when it hands over the EU presidency to Portugal. In order to have the draft adopted as part of EU legislation, EU members need to reach a consensus. There is already an opposition to the draft within the EU. Britain, Italy and Denmark are against the adoption of the draft, arguing that "it will limit freedom of expression."
Turkey categorically denies charges that Armenians were subject to genocide during World War I, and says that there were deaths on both sides after Armenians took up arms and revolted against the Ottoman Empire. The parliaments of a number of countries have endorsed resolutions recognizing the alleged genocide, causing serious deterioration in ties with Turkey.
The French National Assembly infuriated Turkey last October, 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 EU's founding countries and which is 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. Turkey also illustrated how seriously it takes the issue when it said it would suspend military operations with France after the vote.
Germany's move as the EU term president comes at a time when the public opinion in Turkey is highly concerned over passing of a resolution supporting Armenian claims of genocide by the US Congress as the April 24, anniversary of the alleged genocide approaches closer.
Earlier this month, a senior US State Department official warned Congress against passing the resolution, saying the move could result in Turkey closing the İncirlik air base that is used by the US military. Daniel Fried, the assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, told a hearing of a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on Europe that Turkish officials have informed the US that approval of the resolution could lead to a shutdown of the base or a restriction on US over-flight privileges granted by Turkey. He also said the US has been informed that Ankara would respond with "extreme emotion" if the Armenian resolution were approved. He added that such a step would undercut those voices in Turkey which are calling for a "truthful exploration of these events in pursuit of Turkey's reconciliation with its own past and with Armenia."
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.
Today's Zaman
By Süleyman Kurt, Murat Aydın Ankara
At the end of this article there is a mention that "He {Daniel Fried} added that such a step would undercut those voices in Turkey which are calling for a "truthful exploration of these events in pursuit of Turkey's reconciliation with its own past and with Armenia." How ironic is this statement in the face of scholars in Turkey not being free to express their views about the genocide of the Armenians. On the contrary, they are being charged, sent to jail and even killed.
A draft resolution drawn up by European Union term president Germany to introduce punishment for denial of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity has raised concerns in Ankara, which fears it could be used to silence debate about Armenian claims of genocide at the hands of the Ottoman Empire.The draft legislation was an issue in Justice Minister Cemil Çiçek's talks in Berlin last week and is expected to be debated at a Cabinet meeting today. Çiçek will brief members of the government in detail concerning possible unfavorable results of the resolution for Turkey if it is eventually adopted. Germany, which took the helm of the EU presidency as of Jan. 1, has been working on the draft since the end of last year. The draft, which has been supported by the Armenian lobby, would bring up to three years of imprisonment for those who deny "genocides and war crimes committed against humanity." Çiçek, who held talks in Germany last week, discussed the issue with his counterpart, Brigitte Zypries, and expressed Ankara's concerns over the draft.
According to the draft, crimes of racism, xenophobia and denial of genocide will be included in the joint legislation, which is binding for all member countries. If the draft is adopted, any decision by a national court or a national parliament of an EU member country which would make it a crime to deny that Armenians were victims of "genocide" at the hands of the Ottoman Empire, would open the way for imprisonment for dismissing the genocide charges in other EU member countries.
Germany's goal is taking the draft on agenda of a meeting of Justice and Home Affairs Council before July 1 when it hands over the EU presidency to Portugal. In order to have the draft adopted as part of EU legislation, EU members need to reach a consensus. There is already an opposition to the draft within the EU. Britain, Italy and Denmark are against the adoption of the draft, arguing that "it will limit freedom of expression."
Turkey categorically denies charges that Armenians were subject to genocide during World War I, and says that there were deaths on both sides after Armenians took up arms and revolted against the Ottoman Empire. The parliaments of a number of countries have endorsed resolutions recognizing the alleged genocide, causing serious deterioration in ties with Turkey.
The French National Assembly infuriated Turkey last October, 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 EU's founding countries and which is 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. Turkey also illustrated how seriously it takes the issue when it said it would suspend military operations with France after the vote.
Germany's move as the EU term president comes at a time when the public opinion in Turkey is highly concerned over passing of a resolution supporting Armenian claims of genocide by the US Congress as the April 24, anniversary of the alleged genocide approaches closer.
Earlier this month, a senior US State Department official warned Congress against passing the resolution, saying the move could result in Turkey closing the İncirlik air base that is used by the US military. Daniel Fried, the assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, told a hearing of a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on Europe that Turkish officials have informed the US that approval of the resolution could lead to a shutdown of the base or a restriction on US over-flight privileges granted by Turkey. He also said the US has been informed that Ankara would respond with "extreme emotion" if the Armenian resolution were approved. He added that such a step would undercut those voices in Turkey which are calling for a "truthful exploration of these events in pursuit of Turkey's reconciliation with its own past and with Armenia."
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.
Labels: Genocide Denial Law, Turkey and EU, USA and the Armenian Genocide Recognition
posted by Vahe Balabanian at 10:11 AM
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