French films lose airtime in Turkey for 'genocide' bill

The French national assembly last week infuriated Turkey by backing the bill, though it is unlikely to become law due to opposition from the senate and President Jacques Chirac.

Turkey denies claims that Armenians suffered genocide at the hands of Ottoman Turks during World War One, arguing that large numbers of both Christian Armenians and Muslim Turks died in a partisan conflict that raged as the Ottoman Empire collapsed.

In a statement issued late on Wednesday, the RTUK watchdog said its board members had unanimously agreed that Turkish television and radio stations should avoid airing French-made programmes until France drops the Armenian genocide bill.

Turkish consumer groups have called for a boycott of French-made goods. The head of the state body that supervises Turkish higher education, Erdogan Tezic, announced this week he was returning a prestigious French medal as a protest.

But the Ankara government, while protesting against the bill, has stopped short of taking retaliatory measures such as recalling its Paris ambassador.

Turkey is negotiating to join the European Union and may be reluctant to antagonise France, a founder member of the club. France is already lukewarm over Turkey's entry bid.

France, which faces presidential elections next year, is home to Europe's largest Armenian diaspora. Independent Online