| Author (Person) | Carnegy, Hugh, Dombey, Daniel |
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| Series Title | Financial Times |
| Series Details | 24.1.12 |
| Publication Date | 24/01/2012 |
| Content Type | News |
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France was braced for a new round of reprisals by Turkey after the Senate, the upper house of parliament, voted on the 23 January 2012 in favour of a law making a crime to deny that the mass killing of Armenians in 1915 was genocide, similar to denial of the Nazi holocaust. Ankara reacted furiously to the law when it was passed by the National Assembly, the lower house, in December 2011, withdrawing its ambassador from Paris and freezing military and political co-operation with its Nato ally. The bill had initially pertained directly to the killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks from 1915 to 1917, but was later broadened to include all genocides recognised by the French government. Some EU officials were said to be privately aghast at a dispute they fear could further rock the already troubled relationship with Brussels at a time when co-operation with Turkey on the Middle East is at a premium. The Turkish foreign ministry branded the decision 'irresponsible' and threatened swift retaliatory measures. On the 31 January 2012 the new law was referred to France's constitutional council, offering a potential way out of the deep rift between France and Turkey. |
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| Countries / Regions | Armenia, France, Turkey |
