Yalcin Dogan: Should Turkey take France to court?

France, which has played a central role through history in the protection of human rights, is now contradicting its own history. It is preparing to accept a bill which is in direct conflict with freedom of thought.

The French Parliament votes on the "Armenian genocide bill" in two days. Leaving aside issues like "freedom of thought" for a moment, this bill is so ridiculous as to even be anathema to the very basics of justice. Still, despite this, and despite the fact that the law proposed by the bill would run against the "equality" championed by the French Constitution, it looks likely that French parliamentarians will vote to approve this bill.

If the French Parliament does in fact vote to approve the bill, it will pass on to the Senate, where it will wait for two years before going into implementation.

Polish plumbers
Ankara is testing different ways of putting pressure on France. Barring any major surprises however, it looks like all preventative measures will come to naught. How can France accept a law like this one though? What sort of reasons lie behind hostility towards Turkey there?

More than hostility in fact, there is a fear of Turkey. When Poland entered the EU, France was reportedly mostly in fear of the Polish plumbers, fearful of the menace these plumbers presented towards French jobs. And now, with Turkish EU membership a possibility on the horizon, different bogeymen are being pulled out-one of these, the Armenian genocide allegations-to pull Turkey down in the public eye.

The weakest period

The debate of the "Armenian genocide" bill happens to coincide with a very weak period in terms of politics and economy in France. Also, in comes in advance of elections in May, 2007.

The French economy is not what it used to be. It is losing serious ground. President Chirac has lost much of his power that he used to hold in the presidency. And so, the French Republic, one of history's greatest states ever, has been stumbling for the past few years.

France has also not been able to deal with the problems presented by its 7-8% Muslim population. Each day seems to bring forward yet another problem connected with this section of citizenry. Interestingly, the French press is extremely careful on this subject now, and does not carry echoes of the problems on TV or in the papers.

And so, with an economy that is losing power, and the fear of Muslims creeping in at every corner, the spectre of a future competitor like Turkey within the EU is a natural enemy. What the Armenian genocide bill really is then is a reflection of France's own fears.

Economic threat
At this stage in the game, voices rising in chorus from Turkey are calling for economic sanctions against France if the bill is voted into law:

"Let's not let France bid in our contracts, let's limit our trade!"

But these are not reasonable solutions. These are not practical actions in a global world. Economic threats don't really even work in this age anymore. In the end, we ought to see that economic "punishments" would only hurt us too.

Which means we have to find a solution through politics.

Which is where I return to the beginning of this column. Turkey could bring France to the European Court of Human Rights if this bill is voted into law. Can countries bring other countries to this international court? Yes, and in fact, there are two examples from the past, one involving Greece and the other involving Turkey. Both were brought about by a group of European countries concerned about violations of democracy.
When all is said and done, Turkey is picking up a trump card here in terms of "behavior anathema to freedom of thought and expression." It doesn't have to bring France to the European Court of Human Rights, but it certainly has that option.

It may be time to use that option.