Turkey slams genocide bill as racist, vows sanctions

Turkey on Tuesday slammed as discriminatory and racist a bill passed by the French Senate making denial of the Armenian genocide a crime and vowed to impose unspecified sanctions against Paris on a “step-by-step” basis. French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe appealed to France’s “Turkish friends” for calm as Turks reacted furiously to the Senate’s approval of the bill Monday. “The proposal adopted in France is tantamount to discrimination and racism, and it violates freedom of thought,” Erdogan said in an address to his lawmakers in parliament. The Turkish premier, who dismissed the bill as “null and void,” warned however that his Islamist-rooted government would punish Paris with retaliatory measures if French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose right-wing UMP party initated the bill, signs it into law.
“We will implement our sanctions step by step, without any retreat,” Erdogan declared. “We’ll publicise our action plan according to the developments on the ground.” The measure, approved by a vote of 127 to 85 in the French Senate, makes it an offence punishable by jail to deny that the 1915 massacre of Armenians by Ottoman Turk forces amounted to genocide, drawing ire from Turkey. Juppe, speaking on French television Tuesday, said: “I’d like to appeal to our Turkish friends for calm and extend my hand to this great country, this economic and political power.”
When France’s lower house passed the bill last month, Ankara recalled its envoy to Paris for consultations and froze political and military ties with Paris while vowing to impose “permanent” sanctions if the measure is finally adopted.
But before French Senate vote, Turkey sent its ambassador Tahsin Burcuoglu back to Paris to keep up pressure on French senators to oppose the bill.
Erdogan’s address Tuesday was not as strong as expected, in line with continuing efforts by the Turkish envoy to lobby against the legislation.