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MULTIMEDIA
May 28, 2012
 
 
 
 
 
 

Turkish first lady snubs French ambassador’s wife

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32
Hayrünnisa Gül
26 January 2012 / TODAY’S ZAMAN, ANKARA
In reaction to the French Senate’s approval of a bill that criminalizes denying the mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman forces in the early 20th century, first lady Hayrünnisa Gül has not invited Sabine Bili, the wife of the French ambassador to Turkey, Laurent Bili, to a lunch meeting.

Gül will host a luncheon for female ambassadors, wives of ambassadors and female representatives of international organizations serving in Ankara.

Gül will deliver a speech welcoming 90 guests to the event, which will be held at the Çankaya presidential palace next Thursday.

Speaking to reporters at the 25th anniversary of the Zaman daily, Bili confirmed that his wife has not been invited to the lunch and called on Ankara to remain calm. “France attaches great importance to bilateral relations with Turkey. I will do my best to normalize the relationship, but it mostly depends on the Turkish government,” he added.
 
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COMMENTS
lol for the typical boring turkey haters isnt this the same thing any nations leaders do including your beloved israel, usa, canada, england, france please try not to be such hypocrites just makes you guys look like fools.
truth
How many nations do you suppose America and Israel snub for lunch or dinner all the time??? And many other nations do the same exact thing -- you just don't here about it??? Get some perspective will you -- this is no big deal -- this is entirely Turkey's prerogative AND it's done all the time throu...
Cherokee
Politics has nothing to do with etiquette and protocol. This was very rude and the height of bad manners. Oh my God! What were the presidents advisers thinking of?? I literally cringed when I saw Turkish reporters corner the French Ambassador and ask him what he thought about his wife not being invi...
Erdal
France does not worry at all, you are the ones who worry and you definitely should!
@BK
As far as I know Mrs Bili lives in France and I assume she doesn't care either she is invited or not. Who cares anyway if Mrs Gul is polite or not? A local issue of local importance, France has by far more important topics to handle.
sam
But seriously I can't remember the last time I read something so pathetic. What are the French political elites supposed to say 'No free lunch gentleman this means war'.
Babeouf
FRANCE THIS IS JUST THE START THERES MORE TO COME DONT WORRY BE HAPPY SICKOZY.
BK
@'Tutch'Turk: obvious you never saw the British or any Scandinavian parliament in action, its sharp and direct and in contrary with Turkey, were a fistfight is a regularity. But we know already that prefer fights above talk and rudeness above good taste.. Time to learn a little bit more about your h...
Johan
Very childish and very typical to paranoid Turks! I'm sure they had Armenian and Greek food for lunch (they call it Anatolian food)
facts
What do you guys want her to do after repeatedly France insulted Turkiye and obstructed Turkiye's entry to EU? Should she congratulate arrogant, disrespectful France who restricts freedom of speech???
mark rivers
Well I am glad in a way .With the bitterness that exists between these two countries,I would not be surprised if these women started pulling each other's hair :)
Skevi
Nothing new. With all respects to the First Lady, what else could she do but be forced to express her husband's views. Could she dare to do otherwise?
Mike
childish
art408
What do you guys want her to do after repeatedly France insulted Turkiye and obstructed Turkiye's entry to EU? Should she congratulate arrogant, disrespectful France who restricts freedom of speech???
mark rivers
I thought to my self, nothing to add after reading the article. Then went with daily life and have a meal. During that, it occur to me the folloing: If your enemy is hungry, feed her/him. If your enemy is thirsty, give her/him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on her/his...
heap burning coals
I believe the best way to show your disagreement, is to make all kind of things like bag, shirt suit cases and ETC with the written sentences, such as those words, that would be seen as CRIME, and every one who disagrees with the French law, should show their disgust by displaying those written word...
ZN
When that would have happened to an turkish Ambassadors wife in France, whole turkish media would cry "French are Racists!" Actually its an good inside picture, that the present turkish politicians did not understand their own countries history. And also insulting with such actions the heritage and ...
worldpeaceadvisor
It is good for the world to see the distorted emotionalism that plagues the Middle East is not just Arab, but muslim. This comportment takes the cake !
bill
Very childish and perdictable, I doubt the Europeans with centuries of protocal will act the same towards her, it just goes to show how perdictable and they are any any type of criticism. The historical facts of the Genocide cannot be simply swept under the rug, it is time for Turkey to face its pas...
Sergey
Its her right whoever she wants she can invite and not invite. Just like french and all of west for that matter has their rights, muslims have their own rights.
Just Think
Mme Bili is not in Ankara with her husband. Did anybody noticed that? :-)
local
It would be funny if the rest of the ladies invited in cankaya would snub mrs gul.
pavlos
I'm sure the french lady won't turn pale. Mrs Gul acts like an overspoiled child. Pathetic
michael
See, this is the difference between Armenians and Turks. You can excuse the common Turk for being misinformed, etc. But she is the First Lady, for Gods sake. Has the entire Turkish establishment gone mad ? It is well known that the French AG Bill was rejected several times over the years in Franc...
Avery
Dear First Lady, you did nothing intelligent and nothing better for your country's and husband's reputation- just the opposite. You have proved that you can be a real Lady when kindli offered your hand-made food to the President of Armenia when he visited Turkey. Things like this make you special an...
Reeder
You two are wrong. She is doing the right thing. French has been snubing Turks for a long time by keeping away them from EU. Now French is to be snubbed every which way.
david coors
Childish tit-for-tate behavior.
Yaacov
@Johan, dude you have no awarness of the pub talks hold in the Dutch parliament. The Dutch parliament is more rude than an Amsterdam coffee shop. You remember the dialogue between Wilders and your PM Rutte right? A clear example of ignorant westies trying to teach the world how to behave. yuck for y...
DutchTurk
What France did was against the free speech and thought. Jail people for what they think and say!!? Sounds like a 3rd world country!! As a Turk, it was an insult to my country, to me, and to my ancestors who cannot have committed and did not commit such a crime. I totally support, as 80% Turks do, w...
Hakan TK
This is such baby stuff ! Turkey is humiliating itself.
ron
She will be soon in the Netherlands, where she has to listen to the protocol. In Turkey she throw the protocol away while The President always stays above political parties and politics. What a PR damage, and above all: how rude!
Johan
I though they could not get more childish and insane, but I was wrong!
migo
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