5 May 2013 /GÖZDE NUR DONAT, ANKARA
Relations between Turkey and France have not made the progress many expected over the past year, as negative signals continue to come from France with regards to its lax attitude towards the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and its opposing stance to Turkey regarding the Armenian question.
“Even though at the leadership level France is trying to improve relations with Turkey, there is a de facto enmity in French political circles in the senate. And one of the cards they play most frequently against Turkey is the Kurdish question. Their stance is not objective on that issue,” said a Turkish politician, who wanted to remain anonymous, to Sunday's Zaman.
Turkish-French relations nosedived after deputies from then-President Nicolas Sarkozy's party tried to pass legislation criminalizing the denial of Armenian claims of genocide. Economic, political and military contacts between Turkey and France were at the point of being seriously damaged due to the legislation, but shortly afterwards it was deemed unconstitutional by France's top court and the crisis was seemingly averted.
The Turkey-France Inter-parliamentary Friendship Group, abolished shortly after the French resolution, has recently been re-established and deputies have started to exchange visits.
When first elected, incumbent President François Hollande gave signals that he would improve relations with Turkey, as he used a more moderate tone with regards to the so-called genocide issue, one of the main sources of tension between Turkey and France.
But the position of the lower political circles in France does not point to easy relations with Turkey. The description of PKK members, deemed “terrorists” by the West, as “activists” in a report that was prepared for the Council of Europe (CoE) by Josette Durrieu, a deputy from the Socialist Party of France, of which Hollande was the former party leader, could be an example of such a position. The description has sparked reactions from Turkish officials.
The description stands in sharp contrast to earlier reports, decisions, declarations and recommendations adopted by the Council of Europe's institutions, as the group is listed as a terrorist organization by the EU, the US and Turkey.
In an earlier development, three Kurdish women with ties to the PKK were killed in January in Paris. The crime also shone the spotlight once more on France's lax attitude towards PKK terrorists.
The alleged perpetrator of the crime has been arrested by the French police, but the political motives behind January's events have not yet come to light.
Furthermore, France is said to have disappointed Turkey by failing to respond to Turkish calls to sign an agreement that aims to limit the financial sources of the terrorist PKK in its territory.
Turkey has been working to convince France to sign an anti-money laundering and terror financing agreement since 2010, but the French have refused to sign the agreement offered by Turkey, according to Turkish officials who wanted to remain anonymous.
Stating that developments such as the change in terminology coming from a French deputy with regards to the PKK would not be “pleasing” for relations between the two countries, Özdem Sanberk, the head of Ankara-based International Strategic Research Organization (USAK) and a retired Turkish diplomat, claimed that Turkey and France would not very easily change the stances they had in past disputes.
“Some disputes will be there to stay in Turkish-French relations. We are recovering after a long, unfriendly process in the past; we cannot walk into a rose garden,” Sanberk commented in a phone interview with Sunday's Zaman.
While stating that the bilateral relations are showing signs of improving, he also said that France's own problems, such as the economic situation, the French military operation in Mali and the worsening public opinion of Hollande, prevent it from taking more courageous steps in improving relations with Turkey, a controversial subject in French politics.
"It is even more unfortunate that such remarks, which unfairly denigrate our history and foment hatred, were made by a government member responsible for education," read an official statement from the Turkish Foreign Ministry, issued following Peillon's remarks.
However, the attendance of a French minister, and not of President Hollande, at the annual event in Paris has been seen as a goodwill gesture on the part of the French government to Turkey, but the usual dispute between Turkey and France could not be avoided.
Çağrı Erhan, a political science lecturer at Ankara University, stated that the French stance on the issue would continue to annoy Turkey as the 100th anniversary of 1915 events is approaching. “The Armenian lobbies are pushing for a new initiative for 2015, in France as well as in the US. We can expect a negative step on the issue from the French side,” Erhan noted.
Meanwhile, the country has an significant level of investment in Turkey, from the automotive to the food and service sectors.
A French-Japanese consortium has recently won the tender to build Turkey's second nuclear energy plant. French utility group GDF Suez will operate the plant, joining Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd., which is leading the project.
Furthermore, Turkish discount carrier Pegasus Airlines made a large jet order from Airbus, in which France has a major share, in December 2012. This is an important development for France, at a time when it is trying to shake off the effects of a Europe-wide financial crisis along with other EU members.
Cengiz Aktar, a Turkish journalist and academic who thinks Turkey and France are enjoying very good relations, especially in economy, compared to the past, criticized the French leadership for not making an official visit to Turkey for more than two decades.
Stating that the last visit of a French president to Turkey was in 1992 by then-President François Mitterand, Aktar said that “this is a desperate situation” for bilateral relations.
The future will show whether Turkey is able to use these close economic ties with France as political leverage with the country.
Turkish-French relations nosedived after deputies from then-President Nicolas Sarkozy's party tried to pass legislation criminalizing the denial of Armenian claims of genocide. Economic, political and military contacts between Turkey and France were at the point of being seriously damaged due to the legislation, but shortly afterwards it was deemed unconstitutional by France's top court and the crisis was seemingly averted.
The Turkey-France Inter-parliamentary Friendship Group, abolished shortly after the French resolution, has recently been re-established and deputies have started to exchange visits.
When first elected, incumbent President François Hollande gave signals that he would improve relations with Turkey, as he used a more moderate tone with regards to the so-called genocide issue, one of the main sources of tension between Turkey and France.
But the position of the lower political circles in France does not point to easy relations with Turkey. The description of PKK members, deemed “terrorists” by the West, as “activists” in a report that was prepared for the Council of Europe (CoE) by Josette Durrieu, a deputy from the Socialist Party of France, of which Hollande was the former party leader, could be an example of such a position. The description has sparked reactions from Turkish officials.
The description stands in sharp contrast to earlier reports, decisions, declarations and recommendations adopted by the Council of Europe's institutions, as the group is listed as a terrorist organization by the EU, the US and Turkey.
In an earlier development, three Kurdish women with ties to the PKK were killed in January in Paris. The crime also shone the spotlight once more on France's lax attitude towards PKK terrorists.
The alleged perpetrator of the crime has been arrested by the French police, but the political motives behind January's events have not yet come to light.
Furthermore, France is said to have disappointed Turkey by failing to respond to Turkish calls to sign an agreement that aims to limit the financial sources of the terrorist PKK in its territory.
Turkey has been working to convince France to sign an anti-money laundering and terror financing agreement since 2010, but the French have refused to sign the agreement offered by Turkey, according to Turkish officials who wanted to remain anonymous.
Stating that developments such as the change in terminology coming from a French deputy with regards to the PKK would not be “pleasing” for relations between the two countries, Özdem Sanberk, the head of Ankara-based International Strategic Research Organization (USAK) and a retired Turkish diplomat, claimed that Turkey and France would not very easily change the stances they had in past disputes.
“Some disputes will be there to stay in Turkish-French relations. We are recovering after a long, unfriendly process in the past; we cannot walk into a rose garden,” Sanberk commented in a phone interview with Sunday's Zaman.
While stating that the bilateral relations are showing signs of improving, he also said that France's own problems, such as the economic situation, the French military operation in Mali and the worsening public opinion of Hollande, prevent it from taking more courageous steps in improving relations with Turkey, a controversial subject in French politics.
French stance on Armenian issue
The remarks made by French Education Minister Vincent Peillon reaffirming Armenian allegations over the incidents of 1915 in the Ottoman Empire on April 24 -- the anniversary of the so-called Armenian genocide -- have also caused a reaction in Turkey. Peillon made his remarks during an event to commemorate the events of 1915 in Paris, during which he laid a wreath at the Komitas Monument -- a monument to the alleged genocide in France."It is even more unfortunate that such remarks, which unfairly denigrate our history and foment hatred, were made by a government member responsible for education," read an official statement from the Turkish Foreign Ministry, issued following Peillon's remarks.
However, the attendance of a French minister, and not of President Hollande, at the annual event in Paris has been seen as a goodwill gesture on the part of the French government to Turkey, but the usual dispute between Turkey and France could not be avoided.
Çağrı Erhan, a political science lecturer at Ankara University, stated that the French stance on the issue would continue to annoy Turkey as the 100th anniversary of 1915 events is approaching. “The Armenian lobbies are pushing for a new initiative for 2015, in France as well as in the US. We can expect a negative step on the issue from the French side,” Erhan noted.
Significant progress in economic relations
France is one of Turkey's biggest trading partners, as data from the Turkish Statistics Institute (TurkStat) show that Turkish exports to France in 2012 were worth $6.2 billion.Meanwhile, the country has an significant level of investment in Turkey, from the automotive to the food and service sectors.
A French-Japanese consortium has recently won the tender to build Turkey's second nuclear energy plant. French utility group GDF Suez will operate the plant, joining Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd., which is leading the project.
Furthermore, Turkish discount carrier Pegasus Airlines made a large jet order from Airbus, in which France has a major share, in December 2012. This is an important development for France, at a time when it is trying to shake off the effects of a Europe-wide financial crisis along with other EU members.
Cengiz Aktar, a Turkish journalist and academic who thinks Turkey and France are enjoying very good relations, especially in economy, compared to the past, criticized the French leadership for not making an official visit to Turkey for more than two decades.
Stating that the last visit of a French president to Turkey was in 1992 by then-President François Mitterand, Aktar said that “this is a desperate situation” for bilateral relations.
The future will show whether Turkey is able to use these close economic ties with France as political leverage with the country.