Turkey accuses France of genocide in Algeria

[T-Rex]

Turkish prime minister ramps up diplomatic spat, saying French killed 15% of Algeria's population during postwar occupation


Angelique Chrisafis in Paris
guardian.co.uk, Friday 23 December 2011 15.08 GMT


Turkey's prime minister has accused France of having committed genocide during its colonial occupation of Algeria in the latest round of the worst diplomatic row between the two Nato allies in more than a century.

The claim by Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday follows French MPs' approval of a law that would make it a criminal offence to deny that the mass killing of Armenians in 1915 by Ottoman Turks was genocide.

Turkey has frozen political and diplomatic relations with France, recalling its ambassador to Paris and suspending all economic, political and military meetings. Erdogan has withdrawn permission for French military planes to land and warships to dock in Turkey and annulled joint military exercises. He said he would decide, case by case, whether to allow the French military to use Turkish airspace.

"What the French did in Algeria was genocide," he said in a deeply personal speech laced with criticism of France's president, Nicolas Sarkozy.

Erdogan said that about 15% of the Algerian population was massacred during the French occupation from 1945 to 1962. "They were mercilessly martyred. If Mr Sarkozy doesn't know there was a genocide, he can ask his father, Pal Sarkozy … who was a legionnaire in Algeria in the 1940s. I'm sure he has a lot to tell his son about the massacres committed by the French in Algeria."

Pal Sarkozy told French TV: "I was never in Algeria. I didn't get further than Marseille, I was in the [foreign] legion for four months."

The row has simmered for weeks, but erupted on Thursday after French MPs approved a bill which would make denying the Armenian genocide a criminal offence punishable by a one-year prison sentence and a fine of €45,000.

Erdogan said the bill was "a clear example of how racism, discrimination and anti-Muslim sentiment have reached new heights in France and in Europe." He said: "President Sarkozy's ambition is to win an election based on promoting animosity against Turks and Muslims."

Under Sarkozy, who has opposed Turkey's stalled bid to join the EU, Paris-Ankara relations have been tricky. Turkey has accused his rightwing UMP party of using the genocide bill to court the 500,000 French-Armenian voters in next year's presidential and parliamentary elections. Socialists also supported criminalising genocide denial.

"I respect the convictions of our Turkish friends – it's a great country, a great civilisation – and they should respect ours," Sarkozy said on Friday, after arriving in Prague for the funeral of the former Czech president Václav Havel.

The French foreign minister, Alain Juppé, who has tried to smooth tensions, called for "restraint", saying he wanted to preserve "trust and friendship". He added that some declarations had been "no doubt excessive".

Most historians contend the Ottoman killings of the Armenians constituted the first genocide of the 20th century. Ankara denies the killings constitute genocide and says many Muslim Turks and Kurds were also put to death as Russian troops invaded eastern Anatolia, often aided by Armenian militias. The issue weighs heavily on political pride and Turkey's international relations. In Washington Barack Obama has stopped short of calling the killings genocide.

The French parliament recognised the Armenian killings as genocide in 2001. The bill to criminalise genocide denial must go before the senate next year.

 

[T-Rex]

The Turkish government has done the right thing, these western hypocrites should be nailed with their own tools.

 

[TrMhMt]

I think Muslim world must recognize Algerian genocide. These christian fagots play together towards Muslims around the world. The game is basic. Claim that they have biological, Nuclear weapons. They have lack democracy, They have murdered one christian nation blaaahhh bllllaahhhh...

 

[T-Rex]

I think Muslim world must recognize Algerian genocide. These christian fagots play together towards Muslims around the world. The game is basic. Claim that they have biological, Nuclear weapons. They have lack democracy, They have murdered one christian nation blaaahhh bllllaahhhh...

It's a game the west has been playing all over the globe for the last half a century. America that was founded on the genocide of the greatest scale is the forerunner in this charade. Israel has been committing genocide almost on daily basis but has that made any mark in Paris? No, not at all, they are too busy imposing their view on those who do not agree with them as to what really happened in Turkey a century ago. They are afraid of debate, they are afraid of dissent, yet they claim to be the champions of freedom of thought, freedom of speech, they talk of Renaissance. They are interested in dissent in China, in Russia, in Iran, but they are not interested in dissent in France, Britain or America. Now, it's quite clear all those claims are nothing but a grand deceit.

 

[Luftwaffe]

You people must read about the french foreign legion. These men are recruited trained from across the globe and sent to Algeria.

Created to fight "outside mainland France", the foreign legion was stationed in Algeria and took part in mass genocide along with the regular French Army.

 

[Chinese-Dragon]

Good for Turkey.

Those French colonial hypocrites definitely deserve a taste of their own medicine.

 

[T-Rex]

These French not only committed genocide, they also stole many priceless artifacts. Somebody should reopen that chapter of history, after all, the noble French are looking for justice.

 

[vikrams]

“History is as History Was, and cannot Be changed”

 

[Harry_Thomason]

Of course France is guilty of it, same as every single powerful country in the past.

 

[T-Rex]

Countries that faced genocide by the western powers should enact laws forbidding any kind of dissent about the genocides committed by the western powers. If the west can play the ball so can others.

 

[ephone]

Turkey had killed a lot of Armenians and French indeed killed a lot Algerians during its independence.

History is history. Denying it won't make the truth disappear.

 

[T-Rex]

Turkey had killed a lot of Armenians and French indeed killed a lot Algerians during its independence.

History is history. Denying it won't make the truth disappear.

Whatever Turkey did it was because Turkey's very existence was at stake, on the other hand, France committed genocide against the Algerians to continue its colonial rule. So, these two cannot be same. We hear of Turkey committing genocide only from the western countries but the fact that the French committed genocide is almost universally accepted.

 

[Huan]

Unfortunately, I'm afraid the USA will eventually stand with France on this issue as a convention.

 

[T-Rex]

Unfortunately, I'm afraid the USA will eventually stand with France on this issue as a convention.

Of course, unofficially the US supports France, but they wouldn't want to expose themselves to the Turks at this moment when they need the Turks on several fronts. So, they are more likely to advise both sides and specially the Turks, not to be too harsh with each other. But this time the crusaders in France have crossed the red line, so I don't think the Turks are going to listen to uncle sam. Today I've just read in one of the Bangladeshi newspapers that Turkey has already cut diplomatic ties with France. It's a nice lesson for the French crusaders.

 

[Roybot]

This tit for tat attitude is useless and counter productive. Wonder why Turkey never brought this up until today.