Turkey accuses France of genocide in colonial Algeria

23 December 2011
Last updated at 18:04











Turkey accuses France of genocide in colonial Algeria











Mr Erdogan said there were "massacres" in Algeria where Algerians were "burned en masse in ovens"



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The Turkish prime minister has accused France of committing genocide during its colonial occupation of Algeria.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan was speaking after French MPs passed a
bill making it a criminal act to deny that Ottoman Turks committed
genocide in 1915-16 Armenia.

He accused President Nicolas Sarkozy of using the bill to fan hatred of Muslims and Turks for electoral gain.

He said Mr Sarkozy should "ask his father, who served in the French Legion there" about the Algerian "massacre".

Year in jail
Ankara has already recalled its ambassador to France and frozen political visits and joint military projects over the bill.

And Mr Erdogan has warned he will take further unspecified steps.


Continue reading the main story Turkey and the Armenians

• Hundreds of thousands of ethnic Armenians died during mass deportations by Ottoman Turks in 1915-6
  
• More than 20 countries say it was genocide
  
• Turkey and some historians say it was part of widespread turmoil in World War I in which Muslims also died
  
• Estimated 500,000 ethnic Armenians now in France
  
• Turkey closed Armenia border in 1993 because of conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh
  
• Turkey signed 2009 deal with Armenia to examine 1915 killings and open borders: ratified by neither side
  

"In Algeria from 1945, an
estimated 15% of the population was massacred by the French. This is a
genocide," he said. "The Algerians were burned en masse in ovens. They
were martyred mercilessly."

He added: "The vote in the French parliament has shown how
dangerous racism, discrimination and Islamophobia have become in France
and Europe."

If passed into law, Thursday's bill would mean anybody who
publicly denied the Armenian "genocide" would face a year in jail and a
fine of 45,000 euros (£29,000; $58,000).

Mr Sarkozy has hinted the bill has his approval, though his
Foreign Minister, Alain Juppe, has described it as useless and
counter-productive.

There are some 500,000 voters of Armenian descent in France and they are seen as a key source of support for Mr Sarkozy.

Armenians say up to 1.5 million people were killed by the Ottoman Turks in 1915-16.

Ankara says closer to 300,000 people died, and that Turks
were also killed as Armenians rose up against the Ottoman Empire when
Russian troops invaded eastern Anatolia, now eastern Turkey.

More than 20 countries have formally recognised the killings as genocide.

France invaded Algeria in 1830 and it remained under French rule until independence in 1962.

The number of people killed in the eight-year independence
war from 1954-1962 varies widely according to different sources, ranging
from 300,000 to more than one million.

Excellent title.Just goes to prove Turkeys aint safe anywhere this time of year................


Looking at the serious side though why they bringing that up now ?

Lioned wrote:Excellent title.Just goes to prove Turkeys aint safe anywhere this time of year................


Looking at the serious side though why they bringing that up now ?

I think it was because France accused Turkey of genocide in one of their Colonies. Sarkozy seems to be upsetting everyone, obviously knows he will not
win the Election in 3 months time.