French people surprised by Turkey's reaction to Armenian resolution, says Turkish Ambassador Burcuoglu

ISTANBUL (A.A) - December 23, 2011 - Turkish Ambassador in Paris, Tahsin Burcuoglu, said Friday that the French people were surprised by Turkey's reaction to an Armenian resolution that was adopted at the French Parliament on Thursday. Speaking to reporters at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport, Burcuoglu said that all French newspapers published news regarding the resolution and Turkey on their front pages today and the issue was on top of the French agenda. We have received phone calls from all segments of the society. We were touched with the support we have received from various circles. I was especially touched by the way the Turkish community in France reacted to the Armenian resolution, Burcuoglu added. Turkey recalled Ambassador Burcuoglu to Ankara for "consultations" after the Armenian resolution was adopted at the French Parliament. The lower house of the French Parliament adopted on Thursday a resolution that criminalizes rejection of Armenian allegations pertaining to the incidents of 1915. Only 70 out of 577 parliamentarians joined the voting of the resolution which was adopted with majority of votes.  The resolution envisages "one-year prison term and 45,000 Euro fine for those who deny genocide recognized by French laws." French Parliament had recognized so-called Armenian genocide in 1915 on January 29, 2001. The draft criminalizing the rejection of Armenian allegations had first been approved in 2006, but it could not become a law as French President Nicolas Sarkozy prevented its presentation to Senate. Now, the senate's approval is necessary to make the resolution a law.  Turkey strongly opposes the issue of the incidents of 1915 being used as a tool in French politics. Many believe that French President Sarkozy supports the Armenian resolution in order to garner support from France's Armenian population that number around 500,000. France will hold the first round of next year's presidential election on April 22 and the second round run-off on May 6. Sarkozy is running for a second term. If the resolution is not adopted at the senate till February 22, 2012 when the parliament and senate will recess for presidential elections, it will be invalid.