Skip to main content

French National Assembly passes Armenian genocide bill

By the CNN Wire Staff
updated 6:24 PM EST, Thu December 22, 2011
French bill on Armenian 'genocide'
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • NEW: Erdogan says Turkey is reviewing ties with France
  • Turkish PM Erdogan threatens sanctions if the bill becomes law
  • The genocide issue regularly comes up in the U.S. Congress
  • The French Senate must vote on the measure now

Paris (CNN) -- Turkey is fuming over French legislation that would criminalize any public denial of what the bill calls the Armenian genocide last century in Ottoman Turkey.

"We are reviewing our relations with France," Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said after the French National Assembly passed the so-called Armenian genocide bill. "We will take our measures phase by phase depending on France's behavior from now on.

Erdogan said Turkey is recalling its Paris ambassador for consultations to Ankara, is canceling bilateral visits, and won't cooperate with France in joint projects within the European Union.

"We are stopping all kinds of political consultations with France. We are canceling bilateral military activities and joint exercises from now on. We are canceling the permission granted annually for all military overflights, landings and take-offs. We are starting permission process for every military flight individually. From today on, we are rejecting the permission requests of military ships to visit ports. We will not attend and held the bilateral Turkey-France joint economic and trade partnership committee meeting that was planned for January 2012 under the co-chairmanship of the economy ministers of the two countries," Erdogan said.

"I am underlining this. This is the first phase."

The bill -- applauded by Armenians -- must now be voted on by the country's senate. Erdogan said he hopes the French Senate will vote down the bill.

"New measures will come to the agenda depending on the progress of the bill in France and we will apply them with determination without any hesitation."

Armenian groups and many scholars argue that starting in 1915, Turks committed genocide, when more than a million ethnic Armenians were massacred in the waning days of the Ottoman Empire.

But modern-day Turkey officially denies that a genocide took place, arguing instead that hundreds of thousands of Armenian Christians and Muslim Turks died in intercommunal violence around the bloody battlefields of World War I.

The genocide debate is an annual source of tension between Turkey and the United States, two NATO military allies.

The White House annually beats back efforts in Congress to pass a resolution which would formally recognize the 1915 massacre of Armenians as genocide.

"The issue should be researched not by politicians, but by historians," Turkish Parliament Speaker Cemil Cicek said.

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe told Turkish lawmakers Thursday that Turkey is a friend and ally of France and strives to maintain a dialogue.

Armenia's foreign minister, Edward Nalbandian, hailed the move, saying France "reconfirmed its high place of being the cradle of human rights and once again proved its commitment to universal human values."

"The French people showed that human rights are highest value, and today by adopting this bill," he said, indicating that crimes against humanity have no statute of limitations and deserve condemnation.

According to official Turkish statistics, the volume of trade between Turkey and France from January to the end of October this year was more than $13.5 billion.

CNN's Yesim Comert and Saskya Vandoorne contributed to this report

ADVERTISEMENT
Part of complete coverage on
updated 7:50 PM EDT, Wed May 30, 2012
It's an outside-the-box solution, says Clyde Prestowitz, but the German government can save Greece by reissuing its beloved deutsche mark.
updated 5:33 AM EDT, Wed May 30, 2012
Images of slaughter in the Syrian town of Houla provoked outrage around the world, but sometimes outrage isn't enough to spur action, says Tim Lister.
updated 3:56 PM EDT, Wed May 30, 2012
Alleged poison attacks against students in Afghanistan show the fragility of the country's transition, says Gayle Lemmon.
updated 5:27 AM EDT, Wed May 30, 2012
Airport dining doesn't have to be terminal, as a new wave of eateries elevates cuisine above the level of greasy burgers and wilting sushi.
updated 7:10 PM EDT, Wed May 30, 2012
Andrew Keen says our self esteem is determined by our use of social media -- so let's embrace tech which lets data degenerate over time.
updated 7:27 AM EDT, Thu May 31, 2012
Republican Graham Smith argues why the UK monarchy should be consigned to the history books.
CNN's Richard Quest rails against the censorious ratings warnings placed on inflight movies.
updated 12:06 PM EDT, Wed May 30, 2012
Queen Elizabeth was criticized for being aloof after Princess Diana's death in 1997. But one royal insider says that wasn't the case.
updated 5:45 AM EDT, Wed May 30, 2012
His Holiness the Dalai Lama sits on his throne during a tea ceremony in the Lerab Ling Buddhist temple on August 22, 2008 at Roqueredonde in Languedoc-Roussillon region, southern France.
Businessman Christian Stadil believes firms must care about more than money and that corporate social responsibility helps attract talented workers.
updated 11:08 AM EDT, Thu May 31, 2012
Female business leaders in Saudi
It's hard being a female busineswoman in a country where women need permission to work or travel. But some try.
updated 3:31 AM EDT, Mon May 28, 2012
How law enforcement agencies are readying themselves for this month's Euro 2012 soccer tournament.
updated 8:53 AM EDT, Thu May 31, 2012
Adoptions from Africa have surged three-fold in eight years -- but campaigners fear that children from the continent are becoming commodities.
updated 7:17 AM EDT, Thu May 31, 2012
He's been running all his life, running for freedom, running for peace. Now Reza Baluchi is heading for Mt. Everest by running across the Middle East.
updated 7:13 AM EDT, Tue May 29, 2012
An old meatpacking plant in Chicago is being transformed into an eco farm, which its founders say will produce food sustainably with zero waste.
ADVERTISEMENT