Demonstrations against President Nicolas Sarkozy, have occurred Friday in front of the consulate of France in Istanbul, following the call a few days ago by this latter, for the recognition by Turkey of the Armenian genocide.
The protesters carried portraits of Sarkozy with Adolph Hitler’s moustache and others denouncing the massacres committed by France in Algeria during the period of colonialism. Some demonstrators wore masks representing Algerian children, referring to the colonial past of France in North Africa.
The head of the Turkish government Recep Tayyip Erdogan and several government ministers, have denounced statements by Sarkozy during his visit to Armenia and the Minister for EU Affairs Egemen Bagis, advised the French president to address the problems of the French people instead of giving lessons to Turkey. France, whose colonial past is known, does not have to give lessons to Turkey, said some Turkish ministers.
During his visit to Armenia, President Sarkozy has asked Turkey to immediately recognize the Armenian genocide, referring to the massacres in 1915 and 1916 in Turkey, of hundreds of thousands of Armenians.
For Turkey, 300,000 to 500,000 Armenians died during this period. These deaths were not victims of an extermination campaign but because of the chaos of the last years of the Ottoman Empire.
Ennaharonline/ M. O.
via Ennahar Online – Anti-Sarkozy demonstration in Istanbul.
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