French President Jacques Chirac claims Turkey will need to recognize Armenian claims during entry talks
By Jan SOYKOK
French President Jacques Chirac continues to insist if Turkey wants to become a member of the European Union, it should accept Armenian claims.
Chirac told reporters “The French people will have the last word”. According to Chirac negotiations with Turkey will take about 10-15 years.
Many French have grave misgivings about Turkey joining, fearing an influx of cheap labor to France, already stung by 10 percent unemployment. Many here also question Turkey’s human rights record and its people’s embrace of Islam.
Turkey remains extremely sensitive to the Armenian issue. Ankara says it is strange to abuse the events happened about 100 years ago. Dr. Nilgun GULCAn from International Strategic Research Organization, an Ankara based Turkish think tank, said “France has to focus on the current issues. Armenian forces occupy about 20 per cent of Azerbaijan. Armenian Republic does not recognize Turkey’s and Azerbaijan’s borders. Yerevan encourages the irredentist movements in the Caucasus. However Paris cannot see all these, because the French politicians need votes in presidential elections. There are about 1 million Azerbaijani refugees. But they are talking about Armenians killed 100 years ago.”
Dr. Nilgun Gulcan added:
“It is true. Many Armenians killed in the 1915 events. However no one can label these killings as ‘genocide’. Most of the Armenians were killed by the Kurdish bandits. Many suffered from starving and epidemic diseases. Man died in riots. On the other hand it should not be forgeten that the armed Armenian rioters killed about 500.000 Muslims in 1915. Today more than 100.000 Armenians live in Turkey and they strongly support Turkey’s EU entry. The Armenian Diaspora oppose Turkey’s accession. Because if Turkey becomes a EU member they cannot abuse the past. As a matter of fact that the one who mostly benefit from Turkey’s EU entry will be the Armenians in Armenia. The economic isolation of Armenia will be ended and a more developed Turkey will help the Armenian economic deadlock.”
French-Turkish ties became strained in 2001, when French parliament’s
recognition of the Armenian killings as a genocide sparked a boycott of French goods and an exclusion of French companies from Turkish defense contracts. There is a strong Armenian diaspora in France and French politicians have been under Armenian voters’ pressure.
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