Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan attacked the French parliament on Tuesday for passing a "discriminatory and racist" bill which makes it illegal to deny that the mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks nearly a century ago was genocide.
THERE WAS A HOPE THAT FRANCE "WOULD CORRECT ITS MISTAKE"
However, Erdogan said there was still hope that NATO ally France "would correct its mistake" and that any retaliatory measures would be held back, depending on French actions.
The French Senate approved the draft law on Monday, which the lower house also backed in December, prompting a furious response from Ankara.
"We will not allow anyone to gain political benefit at the expense of Turkey; the bill which was passed in France is clearly discriminatory, racist," Erdogan said.
MEASURES STEP BY STEP
"We will adopt a rational and dignified stance, we will implement our measures step by step. Right now we are still in a period of patience," he told his AK Party’s deputies in the Turkish parliament.
The bill now goes to President Nicolas Sarkozy to be ratified. Turkey accuses Sarkozy of trying to win the votes of 500,000 ethnic Armenians in France in the two-round presidential vote on April 22 and May 6.
A COUPLE OF HUNDRED PROTESTERS GATHERED OUTSIDE THE FRENCH EMBASSY
As Erdogan spoke, a couple of hundred protesters gathered outside the French embassy in Ankara and consulate in Istanbul.
Many Turks see the bill as an insult to their nation, a travesty of history and an infringement on free speech.
TO SEE HOW SARKOZY HANDLES THE PROCESS..
Analysts believe Turkey might delay announcing measures to see how Sarkozy handles the process.
OBAMA COULD COME UNDER MORE PRESSURE FROM THE ARMENIAN LOBBY
U.S. presidents have so far ensured that those efforts have been blocked to avoid alienating Turkey, an important regional ally. However, President Barack Obama faces re-election this year and could come under more pressure from the Armenian lobby, analysts say.
EDITOR OF AGOS: ’THIS ONLY WILL PROVIDE MORE GROUNDS TO NATIONALISM IN TURKEY’
Some ethnic Armenians in Turkey saw the French move as unhelpful, while saying wounds needed to be healed.
"This only will provide more grounds to nationalism and reactions in Turkey," said Robert Koptas, editor of Agos, a Turkish-Armenian newspaper.
"I do not think the Turkish state will change its attitude," said Koptas.