The French Armenian Diaspora and Turkey: The possibility of dialogue?

Summary:

For several decades, French persons of Armenian origin have played a special role in Franco-Turkish relations. History explains this. Armenians originally came to France fleeing the massacres at the end of the Ottoman Empire, and for nearly a century they have integrated perfectly into the French social and political landscape, while keeping the memory of past traumas intact. Recognition of the 1915 genocide has been an explicit claim by the Armenian Diaspora scattered across the four corners of the world. In 2001, such recognition was voted by the French Parliament, and has thus become a subject of discord between France and Turkey.

No dialogue can take place between the two States on this matter. Turkey has great difficulty in opening up the darker sides of its past, and accuses France of judging issues that are none of its concern. France, of its part, is quick to position itself as the defender of universal values, which it sometimes forgets concerning itself, while French Armenians always come forward at inopportune moments to recall the genealogy of their pain. This issue was for long taboo for the Turks, while nourishing violent militancy among Armenians - including the ASALA terrorist attacks in the 1980s. It continues to pollute Franco-Turkish political arrangements today. Both States are unable to lessen tensions on this subject, as they are caught between moral debate and realpolitk.

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