TURKEY: Turkey studying retaliatory measures against France over genocide bill, latest

Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday (October 13) Turkey was studying retaliatory measures against France following the approval of a law making it a crime to deny Armenians suffered genocide at the hands of Ottoman Turks. Turkish parliament chairman Bulent Arinc said Turkey would try to adopt a decision which criticises the French parliament after France's lower house of parliament voted for the bill on Thursday (October 12). After meeting with various NGO members about about a new "freedom of speech" billboard project, Arinc said parliament will discuss the law on Tuesday (October 17). "We will try to adopt a decision which will criticise and show the real meaning of the law that passed in French parliament, in the Turkish national assembly," Arinc said. "We want to learn Pamuk's views on the French bill. Not only I or the Turkish people, but the whole world is curious about his opinion," Arinc added, calling on Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk to express his views on the subject. Pamuk -- a controversial figure in Turkey -- was awarded one of the literary world's most coveted prizes on the same day of the vote. Turkey denies claims that Armenians suffered genocide in Turkey during World War One, arguing that large numbers of both Muslim Turks and Christian Armenians died in a partisan conflict that accompanied the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. French firms warned its leaders in Paris that the move could create repercussions for their business in Turkey, a fast-growing market which imported 4.7 billion euros' worth of French goods in 2005. Hundreds of French firms such as Renault and Carrefour have large investments in Turkey, employing thousands of Turkish workers. This week Turkish consumer groups and some trade unions called for boycotts of French products. The Turkish Consumers Union called on its members to begin boycotting French products, starting on Friday with energy group Total . "We are calling on all consumers to not buy products imported from France. We are going to use our power as consumers," union's chairman Bulent Deniz said at a news conference in Ankara. Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey was studying retaliatory measures against France following the approval of a law making it a crime to deny Armenians suffered genocide at the hands of Ottoman Turks. "Turkey's foreign trade volume with France is $10 billion and this is equal to 1.5 percent of France's whole foreign trade volume. We're going to make the proper calculations and then take necessary steps," Erdogan said in a speech. He did not elaborate, but said the government would take measures within Turkey and abroad. But economists questioned the effectiveness of a boycott on France, which is one of biggest economies in the world, as Turkey accounts for only 3 percent of France's exports. Past Turkish boycott calls against other countries had an effect only for a short time. Big Turkish business have largely opposed a boycott and Economy Minister Ali Babacan has said the government would not encourage it either. The bill still needs approval from the upper house, the Senate, and President Jacques Chirac to take effect.

ITN Source | October 14, 2006

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