Bagis reminds France of its national motto

Turkey's EU Minister and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis has strongly criticized the introduction of the alleged Armenian genocide into history textbooks in France. Speaking at a ceremony organized by the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) for the TIKA Academy and Internship Program in Ankara, Bagis urged France to reexamine its understanding of their own national motto based on the worthy precepts of liberty, equality and fraternity. "I hope they will soon realize this mistake and correct it," Bagis said, adding, "Turkey does not know what genocide is. Turkey knows the phrase 'peace at home, peace in the world,' as the founder of our republic [Mustafa Kemal] Ataturk said. We try to provide peace all around the world; we try to give love. There was no colonial system in the places where we had been before. There had always been prosperity and tolerance the places that we went. Instead of placing nonsensical information in their school books, we advise the French not to redefine their understanding of liberte (liberty), egalite (equality) and fraternite (fraternity). We also advise them to end the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia as the co-chair of the Minsk Group. We hope that Turkey will be a means for the European Union to get out of the mental abyss it has fallen into."