Chirac, in Yerevan, urges Turkey to recognise Armenian 'Genocide'. [View All]

CHIRAC, IN YEREVAN, URGES TURKEY TO RECOGNISE ARMENIAN 'GENOCIDE'

Received Saturday, 30 September 2006 10:53:00 GMT
YEREVAN, Sept 30, 2006 (AFP) - French President Jacques Chirac said Saturday that Turkey should recognise the massacre of Armenians during World War I as genocide before the country's hoped-for accession to the European Union.
Asked at a press conference if he thought Turkey should recognise the 1915-1917 massacre as genocide before it joins the EU, he replied: "honestly, I believe so."
"All countries grow up acknowledging their dramas and their errors," said Chirac, who is on a two-day visit to Armenia.
France, which has 400,000 citizens of Armenian descent, officially recognized the massacres of Armenians at the hands of Ottoman Turks as genocide in 2001, putting a strain on its relations with EU aspirant Turkey.
Many countries, including the United States and Israel, have so far refused to label the massacres as genocide.
Armenians throughout the world have pushed for official recognition of the killings, in which they say 1.5 million of their brethren perished, as genocide.

http://www.ttc.org/200609301053.k8uarsj22463.htm