Turkish deputy premier says French initiative will not remain unanswered

ANKARA (A.A) - December 26, 2011 - Turkey's deputy prime minister said on Monday that the French move to adopt a resolution on Armenian allegations regarding the incidents of 1915 would not remain unanswered. Bulent Arinc said it was an injustice to prevent free thought and researches for the sake of interests of administrations, to hamper people from telling what they believed was right, and to darken the history of Turkish nation. "This initiative will not remain unanswered," Arinc said during a dinner hosted in Ankara in honor of Turkish ambassadors all around the world. 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. During the dinner, Arinc said Turkey was always ready to confront its history, and therefore suggested that history should be investigated, archives should be opened and a joint history commission should be established. "This call is still valid, however our interlocutors unfortunately do not want to reconcile, investigate and find out the facts altogether," he said. Moreover, Arinc said European Union (EU) membership was still Turkey's strategic target, but noted that artificial obstacles and double standards imposed before Turkey's membership were concrete indicators that the EU was not as determined as Turkey about the membership. Arinc also said the economic crisis in the EU and political transformaiton in the Middle East made Turkey's membership more significant and indispensable.