ellspacing="0" ce�ÿˆELECTION BLACKMAIL BY ARMENIANSv

On May 18 the French parliament will vote on a bill. If accepted, whoever says “There was no genocide” will face either one year's imprisonment or a fine of up to 45,000 euros. There is no such law in any other country. France is the most important European stronghold for the Armenian diaspora.

Áe most important European stronghold for the Armenian diaspora. There are around 500,000 Armenians in France. They occupy some of the highest posts in the country. They are very influential in politics, the arts and the media. French Armenians were the first who kicked off the genocide campaign 50 years ago. Their biggest leverage is the 400,000 votes they have, which they exploit in every election. In other words, they influence France with both their political power and their social status. In recent years competition between political parties has become tight, increasing the importance of the Armenian vote. The presidential election four years ago was just such a case in point.

  Jacques Chirac won the presidential elections by receiving 120,000 votes more than the extremist Jean-Marie LePen. You can imagine the importance of the Armenian vote in such a tight race.

  Before every election, the Armenian diaspora with support of the Socialist Party starts a bidding war.

  This is exactly what we are facing this year.

  France has declared 2006 and 2007 the Year of the Armenians just for 400,000 Armenian votes because the presidential elections are in 2007.

  France is stuck between Turkey and 400,000 Armenian votes.

 

Lelouche: It won't be easy to pass this law:

  One of the most important politicians in France, Pierre Lelouche, was in Istanbul to attend the NATO parliamentarians meeting in Istanbul. He worked as Chirac's advisor for a long time and now is one of the closest associates of Nicolas Sarkozy, who is favored to win the 2007 presidential elections. He also supports our European Union membership and knows how important Turkey is. We discussed the bill with Lelouche.

  He was very annoyed.

  He noted the approaching crisis and said: “It is very dangerous. I don't think it will be easy to pass this bill, but it is important to be very careful.”

  So, how can we be more careful?

  At a time the Turkish-French relations are improving, a huge pro-France campaign in on its way, the first Cannes-Istanbul Yacht race is scheduled for this summer and French investment is approaching record levels, we are faced with a trap laid by the French socialists.

  Lelouche says this development should not be seen as a reflection of anti-Turkey or anti-Turkish sentiment in France. No one should ignore the fact that Lelouche is a parliamentarian. There are Armenians among his constituents. Despite this, he didn't try to hide the fact that the Socialist Party and the Armenians were behind this bill to exploit the approaching elections.

  Those who rule France know this bill will seriously harm Turkish-French relations; however, there is also a fact we can't ignore.

  Lelouche believes the biggest danger is the escalation of reciprocal blackmail. If there is an escalation, it will get out of hand, he fears.

  Will this bill be passed?

  Lelouche did not want to speculate. “Compared to the other one, this bill is more damaging. That's why people will have to think twice before voting for it.”

  In summary, election objectives are battling with long-term bilateral interests.

 

Does France know the cost of this crisis?

  I wonder why France, which is being led by the Armenian diaspora, is trying to ruin an important relationship built up over the years with the serious effort of both sides.

  There is no logic to it. It is hard to find any other reason apart from short-term political interests. I wonder if French leaders are aware of the damage this bill will cause both to their country and to Turkey. Don't they realize they are pushing the relations towards a crisis?

  If parliament approves the bill, reactions from the Turkish public and boycotts will hurt both sides.

  The figures are there for all to see.

  France is the seventh largest investor in the country, with 220 French companies investing billions of euros in Turkey. It is a win-win situation. Some 40,000 Turks are employed by French companies in Turkey. The bilateral trade volume is 9 billion euros. Moreover, France wants to be involved in huge projects planned in Turkey.

  Is all this trouble worth it just for a bill that seems impossible to implement and which will only give emotional satisfaction to the Armenian diaspora while alienating Turkey?