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| The Grand Turk |
| Erdogan accuses France of 'genocide' in Algeria |
| 2011-12-23 |
| Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday accused France of committing "genocide" in Algeria after French lawmakers voted a bill criminalising the denial of Armenian genocide. "France massacred an estimated 15 per cent of the Algerian population starting from 1945. This is genocide," Erdogan told a news conference after the French move on the 1915 massacre of Armenians by Ottoman-era forces. The Turkish premier accused French President Nicolas Sarkozy of "fanning hatred of Muslims and Turks for electoral gains." "If the French President Mr. Sarkozy does not know about this genocide, he can ask his father Pal Sarkozy... (who) had served in the French legion in Algeria in the 1940s," Erdogan said in his televised remarks. "I am sure he has many things to tell his son about the French massacre in Algeria," Erdogan said. France is home to around 500,000 citizens of Armenian descent and they are seen as a key source of support for Sarkozy and his UMP ahead of presidential and legislative elections in April and June next year. On Thursday, France's National Assembly voted the first step towards passing a law that would impose a jail term and a 45,000 euro fine on anyone in France who denies that the 1915 massacre of Armenians constitutes genocide. |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #1 Some more background. An interesting side note: The movie 'The Battle of Algiers' (1966) was groundbreaking in its realistic, gritty portrayal of violent revolution, and is a 'must see' for depicting both brutal police state tactics and ruthless terrorism. And oddly enough, its soundtrack was done by none other than Ennio Morricone, and was one of his first soundtrack hits. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2011-12-23 11:27 |