October 11, 2006

La France Irrationnel (3)- Turkey's EU plans threatened by genocide dispute with the French but Turkey unites to oppose French plans for Armenian law

David Rennie of Telegraph says "Turkey's painful progress towards European Union membership has been plunged into crisis by a dispute with the French over the massacre of Armenians during and after the 1914-18 war." FP Passport's should also be mentioned here: France's controversial genocide law

A Deutsche Presse-Agentur piece says:

On a visit to Ankara at the beginning of the year, French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy highlighted the interest shown by French business in investing in Turkey, particularly in the huge project to construct a nuclear power station at Sinop on the Black Sea. Now, instead of lucrative contracts, those same companies face a boycott of their products, and political relations between the two countries have plumbed a low not seen since that of five years ago........

Aydin Ayaydin, however, opposes the idea of boycotting: Boycotting Is No Solution; We Need A Lobby

As far as I could see, focus shifted to TR-EU relations in general with an eye on the French vote. In this context, Tulin Daloglu writes on Turkey's future and Cem Oguz makes gives an humble advice to Europe: Stick the needle in yourself first ... . As an older but still relevant commentary I would cite Dominique Moisi's A French Presidential Primer

As a developing story, Row over Danish cartoon escalates though Websites remove videos mocking Muhammad

Posted by erkan at October 11, 2006 06:49 AM | TrackBack
Posted to Armenian Question | News