Posted on 03/18/2006 7:54:38 PM PST by Cornpone
LYON, France, March 18, 2006 (AFP) - Several thousand people joined a boisterous rally in this southeastern French city Saturday organized by Franco-Turkish associations opposed to the construction of an Armenian genocide memorial.
The meeting turned rowdy when another group, students staging their own protest against a controversial new employment contract for youths, began throwing bottles and police stepped in with tear gas to separate the two groups. Police estimated the pro-Turkish gathering at about 3,200 protestors, who carried signs claiming "There never was an Armenian genocide".
"We do not want a monument erected. It is a verdict without a judgment," said Sevda Gog, a representative of the Franco-Turkish committee, which plans to petition the Socialist mayor of Lyon, Gerard Collomb.
In 2001 France declared to be genocide against Armenians the events that took place under the Ottoman empire from 1915 to 1917, leaving 1.5 million dead, according to Armenian estimates. The French decision angered Turkey.
In 2003 Collomb announced that Lyon would build an Armenian memorial, though plans were suspended on the advice of the regional commission.
Armenians say their kinsmen were slaughtered in an orchestrated genocide under the Ottoman Empire, a theory many countries have endorsed, much to Ankara's ire.
Turkey rejects the genocide label and argues that between 300,000 and half a million Armenians and at least as many Turks died in civil strife during World War I when Armenians took up arms for independence in eastern Anatolia and sided with Russian troops invading the crumbling empire.
Excellent analysis.
Why do the charges continue?
Well, Armenia was a "republic" in the USSR. The modern secular republic of Turkey was a staunch ally of the U.S. throughout the Cold War and a member of NATO. Turkey was an enemy of the USSR. In my mind 2 + 2 = 4, i.e., the screams of genocide were amplified by Soviet distortions.
An industry has evolved.
I am reminded of the "civil rights" industry here -- but it goes all the way back to 1619 (the first slave arrives, I believe).
Good point. I believe a good authority on the Middle East is Bernard Lewis, Professor of Near Eastern Studies Emeritus at Princeton University. I have read his "The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror". He is also an authority on Turkey and wrote "The Emergence of Modern Turkey". I am going to look for a copy.
The Armenians also want land and reparations from Turkey. Russia has long held terratorial ambitions in the region. The plot thickens.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.