Turkish press wary of Sarkozy's win

May 7, 2007
Expatica

"Bilateral ties between Ankara and Paris took a blow in October last year when the French National Assembly passed a bill that makes it a jailable offense to deny that Ottoman Turks committed genocide against Armenians during World War I.

The bill, which has yet to go before the Senate and then back to the lower house before becoming law, angered Turkey which categorically rejects that the killings of Armenians constituted genocide.

According to the Turkish press, Sarkozy also said that if he was elected president, he would sign the bill into law as opposed to outgoing President Jacques Chirac."

ANKARA, May 7, 2007 (AFP) - Turkish newspapers Monday raised the possibility of a risk to Ankara's ambitions to join the European Union and bilateral ties with Paris after rightwinger Nicolas Sarkozy won the French presidential poll.

"Alas! It is Sarko," the popular Aksam daily said on its front page while the Milliyet newspaper said: "Sarkozy the new obstacle on the path towards EU."

Sarkozy's election "will increase the potential of already chilly Turkish-French ties to worsen," Milliyet said.

"But it is not impossible for Sarkozy, who is more of a pragmatic politician than an ideologue, to change his stance once he becomes president," it added.

In his election campaign which won him 53 percent of the vote in Sunday's polls, Sarkozy often spoke out against Turkey's ambitions to become an EU member, arguing that Ankara "has no place" inside the bloc.


The popular Vatan daily said Sarkozy's election would prove a "turning point" in Turkey's troubled ties with the European Union.

"If he implements what he has so far said, Turkish-EU ties will be dragged into a tense adventure. Such a tense situation has the potential to affect Turkish-French ties," it said.

Bilateral ties between Ankara and Paris took a blow in October last year when the French National Assembly passed a bill that makes it a jailable offense to deny that Ottoman Turks committed genocide against Armenians during World War I.

The bill, which has yet to go before the Senate and then back to the lower house before becoming law, angered Turkey which categorically rejects that the killings of Armenians constituted genocide.

According to the Turkish press, Sarkozy also said that if he was elected president, he would sign the bill into law as opposed to outgoing President Jacques Chirac.

Semih Idiz, a political commentator writing in Milliyet, said Sarkozy was a "coarse representation of the basic fears and concerns of the French people" on issues such as the integration of Muslims and immigrants as well as Turkey's eventual EU membership.

"The real fear of Sarkozy and people who think alike is a growing Turkey that can compete and has a greater strategic importance than France," he said.

"The rise of a Muslim-populated country and the possibility of it having an equal say with France in the EU cannot be easy to swallow for 'sugar-coated crypto-fascists'," he added.

Copyright AFP

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French Vote on Armenian Genocide Adds To Turkey’s Growing Anti-EU Sentiment

Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, December 2006, pages 30-31
Talking Turkey
By Jon Gorvett

Turkish protesters demonstrating in front of the French consulate in Istanbul Oct. 14 carry signs calling for a boycott of French goods (AFP photo/Bulent Kilic).

WITH THE FRENCH parliament passing in early October a resolution to make denial of the Armenian genocide a crime, the issue of 1915 once again was buried beneath a mass of knee-jerk responses in Turkey.

Protests were held, tricoleur flags were burned. Calls for a boycott of French goods were wheeled out of the nationalist garage, where they had been gathering dust since 2001—the last time the French parliament had intervened in this dispute—and plenty of brave speeches were made.

Yet while the motion in Paris may have been a storm in an electoral teacup likely to be quashed by more sober heads in the Senate and the Presidency—just as it was back in 2001—this time it may not be a case of plus ça change, plus ça la meme chose.

This is because, nowadays, support in Turkey for the European Union—of which France is such an important symbol—has never been more dismal. Illustrative of this was the fact that the resolution was passed just as Turkey was about to be on the receiving end of another annual European Commission report on its progress in EU membership talks. Widespread leaks, and a condemnatory version of the report from the European Parliament, had left little doubt in Turkey that this year’s end-of-term grade would have a definite “could do better” ring to it.

Thus the French vote added to a growing feeling on the Turkish street that the EU spends all of its time attacking Turkey rather than helping it.

Some in Istanbul and Ankara also pointed to the bill as illustrative of a perceived double standard in European attitudes toward free speech.

Only a few weeks before the French vote, Europe had condemned Turkey for putting on trial one of its most respected authors, Elif Safak. She had been accused of “insulting Turkishness” under the controversial Article 30 of the revised Turkish criminal code—the same article used unsuccessfully last December to try to prosecute recent Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk.

At a hearing attended by many European Union representatives anxious to establish their free expression credentials, the Safak case also was dismissed. But, some columnists asked, how come the Europeans condemned Turkey for gagging free speech under Article 30 while at the same time they were busy gagging free speech over the Armenian genocide?

The effect of the French parliament’s decision, therefore, was to create another sense of grievance in Turkey against the Europeans. This also plays to a central part of the Turkish national narrative—that of the persecuted Turks, forced back into Anatolia via massive bouts of ethnic cleansing in the Balkans, the Middle East and the Caucasus, as the Ottoman Empire collapsed in the later 19th and early 20th centuries.

Indeed, in this narrative, which continues to be spread at school and beyond in Turkey, the Armenians themselves come as essentially the last straw. Even in Anatolia, the nationalists say, they wanted to push us out—“they,” in this case, being the Armenians, erstwhile citizens of the same Ottoman Empire, who lived in Anatolia and are then portrayed as fifth columnists of the Europeans and the Russians. This allows the nationalists to then claim that it was the Turks, not the Armenians, who were the victims in 1915.

Challenging this view not only has long been highly dangerous for Turks, but has only recently been open to debate at all. Whether the French parliament’s effective closing of the issue to discussion is at all useful in encouraging openness elsewhere remains to be seen, but the French vote was largely seen as a setback by those in Turkey trying to bring the events of 1915 out into the open.

At the same time, it also clearly is a setback for the pro-EU camp in Ankara, which recently has been under fairly constant shellfire over foreign policy in particular, and over the perennial Kurdish issue as well. Joining the barrage with its heavy artillery was the Turkish military, which launched a series of attacks on perceived concessions to the European Union over the nation’s fundamental interests.

The first salvo came at the end of September from the head of the navy, Admiral Yener Karahanoglu, who said that Turkey would never make the concessions being demanded of it on the path to membership. These were widely seen as being over Cyprus—where Turkey is being asked to open its ports and airports to the vessels of EU-member Cyprus, as represented by the Greek Cypriot government.

Indeed, the Cyprus issue duly arose again, like Banquo’s ghost, to rattle its chains over the annual membership accession talks between Turkey and the EU in October. EU Enlargement Commissioner Oli Rehn warned that unless Turkey made a move on opening its ports, a “last window of opportunity on the Cyprus issue in the coming weeks or months for a very long time, perhaps for years” might close.

The other foreign policy issue over which the EU is pushing Turkey is Armenia, with which Turkey is expected to normalize relations. Since the Azerbaijan-Armenian conflict in the early 1990s over Nagorno Karabakh, Turkey has closed its land frontier with Armenia and will not reopen it until there is a settlement between Baku and Yerevan.

Admiral Karahanoglu’s words were then backed up by the head of the army, Gen. Ilker Basbug, who warned of “intentional, patient and systematic attempts” to undermine the achievements of the secular Turkish Republic. This was interpreted as a widening of the attack to target the Turkish government, which with its Islamist past has long been held in deep suspicion by the generals.

Finally, the bunker buster itself was dropped by Gen. Yasar Buyukanit, the new chief of the General Staff and thereby Turkey’s topmost military official, when he spoke out to accuse the EU of having “a hidden agenda” for Turkey.

Given that the governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) comes from an Islamist tradition that also has long been hostile to the EU—indeed, it was one of the great achievements of liberals within the AKP to have turned this around after the “soft coup” back in 1997—support for “concessions” has never been high among Turkey’s politicians either.

So, with such a basis of mistrust at the highest levels of both military and government—and a bureaucracy that has a long history of opposition to the kind of reforms EU membership would entail—it is no surprise to find that support in society as a whole for EU membership has plummeted. Recent opinion polls suggest around half the population support membership. Even five years ago, the figure was nearer 80 percent.

Nor is Turkey immune to broader global polarizations that have been underway in recent years. The U.S. also is massively more unpopular in Turkey now than it was before the “War on Terror.” As a Muslim country, Turkey feels the pull of the widespread condemnation of Western actions found elsewhere in the Islamic world.

Given such circumstances, the path toward EU membership has been growing thornier, even as it has seemed to be getting clearer. This contradiction is evidence of the complexity of Turkish attitudes toward Europe—and vice versa—while also perhaps serving as cautionary tale to those who see the world in simpler terms.

Jon Gorvett is a free-lance journalist based in Istanbul.

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In Spite Of The Genocide . . .

Friday, December 22, 2006
The Wall Street Journal
By Serge Sarkisian

YEREVAN, Armenia -- Over the past few months, attention in Europe has focused once again on the genocide of the Armenian people. The debate in the European Parliament over whether Turkey's recognition of the genocide should be a precondition for membership in the European Union, and the French National Assembly's bill criminalizing genocide denial, have put the spotlight on this tragic period of Armenia's history.

I want to look to the future and I hope that Turkey's negotiations for EU membership will provide the long-awaited opportunity for our two countries to establish civilized relations for the benefit of our peoples and the region. Armenia is part of the new European Neighborhood Policy and is seeking closer ties with the EU. As the country with the oldest Christian community in the world, we are a neighbor to Europe, but also to Georgia, Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkey.

Turkish-Armenian relations and the genocide are, of course, important factors that need to be considered during Turkey's negotiations for EU membership. It is important to remember the past to ensure that such crimes against humanity are not repeated. Nevertheless, Armenia has a very straightforward and practical position in terms of future relations with Turkey. We would welcome starting normal diplomatic and other relations -- without preconditions. That includes not tying the establishment of diplomatic relations to recognition of the genocide. More importantly, we want to profit from such diplomatic relations as a means to overcome the issues that burden our relations. We cannot expect solutions to come before we start talking to each other. Solutions will only arise when we work hard for them, starting by establishing an open dialogue.

In addition to building diplomatic ties between our two countries, we believe that in negotiating for membership -- and perhaps as a future EU member state -- Turkey will contribute to an economically stronger and more stable neighborhood. This is in the interest of both Turkey and Armenia. EU membership would also make Turkey much more predictable. It is always easier to deal with a predictable neighbor.

Sadly, in the past Turkey's response to Armenia's desire for normal, diplomatic relations has been to punish and threaten those who have recognized the genocide. The breakthrough promised 15 years ago when Ankara announced its recognition of Armenian independence remains unfulfilled. Turkey refused then to establish diplomatic relations with my country -- and refuses to do so to this day. The result is that our bilateral relations are zero. Worse, Turkey maintains closed borders with Armenia despite growing international pressure and condemnation, throws every effort into isolating landlocked Armenia from international and regional transportation projects and does not play a constructive role in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. While these policies contradict contemporary principles of international relations and world order, Armenia does not regard Turkey's potential membership in the EU as a threat to national security. Quite the contrary. We hope it will mean that Turkey will change, and be in a better position to face both its history and future.

The entry negotiations hold seeds of hope that the impasse between Turkey and Armenia can eventually be broken. If Turkey lifts the blockade of its border with Armenia, my small country becomes geopolitically closer to Europe. Armenia already shares a common interest with the EU on a large range of issues ranging from regional security to democratic development.

The statehood that both Armenia and Turkey enjoy is not an apartment. You cannot sell it and leave it. Neither Turks nor Armenians will leave the region. The logical solution is to have normal relations with each other. That's what neighbors seek to do in today's world.

I do not say that Armenia should resolve its relations with Ankara at any price. What I do say is that it is ready to regulate its relations with Turkey without any preconditions. Armenia is committed to doing everything it can to find a way to develop bilateral relations, as much as we are seeking close cooperation with the EU. We look forward to the EU becoming increasingly involved in finding a way to a breakthrough for relations between Turkey and Armenia.

Finally, let me make yet one more appeal to Turkey. We cannot be permanent enemies -- and even if we could, there is no need or sense in being such enemies. So for the sake of our future, let us move forward.

Mr. Sarkisian is Armenia's defense minister.

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France has no confirmation of military rift with Turkey - official

PARIS, Nov 16 (KUNA) -- France has not received any official confirmation that Turkey intends to halt military cooperation with the French army because of ongoing tensions due to France's position on the alleged Armenian genocide in 1915.

Several years ago, the French parliament officially recognized the Armenian genocide which is said to have claimed around one million lives.

Turkey disputes the Armenian version and the figures put forward by Armenia.

The situation further deteriorated when the French Parliament last month made it a crime to call into question or dispute the Armenian genocide, a similar move to that made by the Parliament on the Jewish holocaust several years ago.

The latest French move incensed Turkish authorities and resulted in the reports from the Military High Command in Ankara that cooperation with France will be halted.

"To my knowledge, we have not received any official communication on this subject from Turkish authorities," Foreign Ministry spokesman Jean-Baptiste Mattei said.

"Concerning our relations with Turkey in military matters, our armed forces cooperate closely in several operational theatres (and) in the framework of multinational operations," the French official noted.

He cited, in particular, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Bosnia, Kosovo and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

"There is, thus, a close cooperation and a great mutual respect between the French and Turkish armed forces," he indicated.

There have been calls in Turkey for boycotts of French goods and other retaliatory measures in addition to ending cooperation in a number of areas because of the French Parliaments move on the Armenian genocide issue. (end) jk.

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'Armenians should Open Historical Archives'

Friday, February 04 2005
Turks.US

Erdogan hosted French Parliamentary Speaker Jean Louis Debre in his office, who visited Turkey in order to hold talks about the Armenian and the Cyprus issues as well as reforms regarding the European Union (EU). Reacting specifically against the so-called Armenian genocide allegations raised by France, Erdogan reportedly said: "We leave the discussion of these issues to our historians." If Armenian historians have some claims to make, so do our historians. If they open their archives, it will be seen that the situation is nothing like what has been claimed. We do not have any problems with our Armenian citizens. We have already opened our archives on this issue, but the Armenians have not."

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.

Turkey 'must admit WWI genocide'

13 December, 2004
BBC News

France has said it will ask Turkey to acknowledge the mass killing of Armenians from 1915 as genocide when it begins EU accession talks.

French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier said Turkey had "a duty to remember".

Armenians say 1.5 million of their people died or were deported from their homelands under Turkish Ottoman rule.

France is among a group of nations that class the killings as genocide. Turkey denies any organised genocide, claiming they were quelling a civil uprising.

Mr Barnier said France did not consider Turkish acknowledgement a condition of EU entry, but insisted his country would raise the issue once talks opened.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting of EU foreign ministers to discuss plans to invite Turkey for accession talks, Mr Barnier said Turkey "must carry out this task as a memorial".

In addition, France believes that accession talks should not begin before the second half of 2005, Mr Barnier said. Turkey has pushed for immediate negotiations.

"I believe that when the time comes, Turkey should come to terms with its past, be reconciled with its own history and recognise this tragedy," Mr Barnier said.

'So-called genocide'

His comments drew no immediate official response from Turkey, which has consistently denied orchestrating genocide and the Armenian figures.

A foreign ministry spokesman in the Turkish capital, Ankara, told Reuters that Turkey has never and will never recognise "any so-called genocide".

Armenia alleges that the Young Turks, in 1915 the dominant party in the Ottoman Empire, systematically arranged the deportation and killing of 1.5 million Armenians.

Turkish relations with independent Armenia, which borders Turkey to the north, have long been coloured by the issue.

Around 300,000 Armenians live in France, more than in any other European country, and community leaders have pledged to pressure French President Jacques Chirac on the genocide issue during Turkish accession negotiations.

France passed a law officially recognising the Armenian genocide in 2001, cooling relations with Turkey and scuppering a major arms deal.

Another 14 nations, including Switzerland, Russia and Argentina, also classify the killings as genocide.

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.