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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6045838.stm
Turkey has condemned a French parliamentary vote which would make it a crime to deny that Armenians suffered "genocide" at the hands of the Turks. Turkey called it a "serious blow" to relations and has threatened sanctions. The vote was also criticised by the EU.
The bill, tabled by the opposition but opposed by the French government, needs approval from the Senate and president.
Armenia says Ottoman Turks killed 1.5 million people systematically in 1915 - a claim strongly denied by Turkey.
There are accusations in Turkey that the Armenian diaspora and opponents of Turkey's European Union membership bid are using the issue to stop it joining the 25-member bloc.
'Unfounded'
Turkey has been warning France for weeks not to pass the bill which was sponsored by the opposition Socialist party.
It provides for a year in jail and a 45,000-euro (£30,000) fine - the same punishment that is imposed for denying the Nazi Holocaust.
The opposition against Turkey in the EU has begun to present an ugly face
Cengiz Candar
Turkish commentator
"Turkish-French relations, which have been meticulously developed over the centuries, took a severe blow today through the irresponsible initiatives of some short-sighted French politicians, based on unfounded allegations," the Turkish foreign ministry said.
The BBC's Sarah Rainsford in Istanbul says many Turks are angry at what they see as double standards in the EU, where opinions are sharply divided about whether Turkey should be allowed to join.
The European Commission has said that if the bill becomes law it will "prohibit dialogue which is necessary for reconciliation" between Turkey and Armenia.
The official Turkish position states that many Christian Armenians and Muslim Turks died in fighting during World War I - but that there was no genocide.
But public debate on the issue has been stifled in Turkey.
The French vote came as controversial Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk won the 2006 Nobel Prize in Literature.
He has faced prosecution in Turkey for talking about the murder of hundreds of thousands of Armenians during World War I and thousands of Kurds in subsequent years.
The charges have since been dropped.
Celebration and concern
The French governing Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) did not back the bill, but gave its deputies a free vote.
It passed by 106 votes to 19, after most deputies left the chamber in protest against what critics say is an attempt to attract votes of the some 500,000 people of Armenian descent in presidential elections next year.
Ethnic Armenians in Paris celebrated the result.
"The memory of the victims is finally totally respected," said Alexis Govciyan.
But French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin distanced himself from the bill.
It is "not a good thing to legislate on issues of history and of memory," he said.
Armenia vote splits Turkish press
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6043290.stm
Newspapers in Turkey differ over how to respond to Thursday's vote in the French parliament on a bill that would make it a crime to deny that Turks committed genocide against Armenians during World War I.
Some commentators believe the vote signals opposition to Turkey joining the European Union, and one writer calls France "a disgrace to the civilised world".
Other dailies appeal for a level-headed approach so that Turkey does not "humiliate" itself, and argue that Ankara still has many friends in Europe.
CENGIZ CANDAR IN BUGUN
The draft law is actually a clear sign that "the anti-Turkey rebellion in the EU" has begun. That's why we cannot and must not see today's vote and its results exclusively in terms of relations between Turkey and France. This contains dimensions that can turn into a Turkey-EU issue, and the opposition against Turkey in the EU has begun to present an ugly face.
HASAN CEMAL IN MILLIYET
In Europe there are not only those who want to keep Turkey outside of the EU. There are also those who defend Turkey's EU membership in terms of the contribution it will make to the political, economic and strategic interests of Europe. That is why staying on track and continuing the journey to Europe is certainly to Turkey's benefit.
EMIN COLASAN IN HURRIYET
As long as we keep begging the Europeans on the way towards the EU, many more genocide tales, and many other issues and embarrassing obstacles will be set before us. Those who do not see this are either liars attempting to deceive the nation or the ignorant ready to sell their country to the EU.
MEHMET ALI BIRAND IN POSTA
Let us not provoke those Turkish people who cannot control their reactions. Let us tell France to "stop" but do that within civilised limits. Let us not humiliate ourselves nor incite xenophobia in Turkey.
OKTAY EKSI IN HURRIYET
We stress that France is a disgrace to the civilised world. However, it is a precondition for Turkey, which tells others that "what you are doing is shameful in terms of freedom of expression" first of all to get rid of its own sources of shame.
ILHAN SELCUK IN CUMHURIYET
France is not alone in this move. The West has changed towards Turkey! If France punishes those who say that "there was no Armenian genocide" it will be a shameful historical document and permit us to perceive the new realities of the world.
SAHIN ALPAY IN ZAMAN
Ankara is getting ready to retaliate against France if it turns the denial of the "Armenian Genocide" into a crime. Even if we assume that the EU politicians and elites are not so stupid as to take steps that will push Turkey away from Europe, it seems inevitable that Turkey-EU relations will go through a tense period in the future.
Originally Posted by Yala
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