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Turkish Army Enterprise Will Not Break Ties With French Partners
ANKARA, Feb 13 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The head of an enterprise run by the Turkish army insisted in remarks published Tuesday that the company would not break ties with its French partners despite anger in the country over a new French law accusing Ottoman Turks of genocide.
"It is not possible to back off from accords you have signed and our cooperation with the French will continue," retired general Selcuk Saka, the chairman of the Army Solidarity Foundation (OYAK), told the mass-circulation daily Milliyet.
Referring to legislation adopted last month by the French parliament and signed into law on January 30th by President Jacques Chirac, Saka said: "We believe that such unjust resolutions should not damage economic activities that are beneficial to Turkey."
Turkey has excluded French companies from several lucrative public tenders, mostly in the defense field, as a reprisal against the French decision to recognize as genocide the killings of Armenians during the final years of the Ottoman Empire around 1915.
Saka's remarks were the first public comment on the issue by OYAK, whose position was a subject of curiosity given the fact that it is run by retired military officials.
OYAK, which provides economic assistance to members of the army, runs a joint venture with French carmaker Renault and has a share in the Turkish branches of the French oil company TotalFinaElf and the insurance firm Axa.
Turkey reacted angrily to a French parliament decision passing a resolution accusing Turkey of genocide against Armenians at the turn of the 20th century as the Ottoman Empire disintegrated.
France has Europe's largest Armenian minority population, estimated at 300,000, who lobbied hard for the resolution to be adopted. The controversial resolution clearly states that "France publicly recognizes the Armenian genocide of 1915."
Turkey, which borders Armenia, denies any part in genocide and argues that any bloody events were part of general skirmishes in 1915.
Armenian leaders say that some 1.5 million Armenians died during the last days of the empire. The Turks say only 300,000 died during clashes, and that people died on both sides during a revolt against authorities.
The European Union Parliament passed a similar resolution late last year, further angering Ankara. A similar resolution was also pressed by Armenians in the U.S. in which the U.S. Congress debated the issue, but finally dropped it after warnings from then U.S. president Bill Clinton that such a law would be harmful to Washington security interest in the region.
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