Armenian Issue And “Europe Without Islam”

The Armenian issue may be one of the crucial factors not only for the French elections but also for the future of Europe.

Ahead of the second round which by the way will be held on the same day with the Armenian parliamentary elections, May 6, the acting president Nicolas Sarkozy bets on ultra-nationalism, trying to attract the votes for Marin Le Pen. But in order to receive these votes Sarkozy will have to prove that he is for “clean” Europe, for the elimination of migration, against Islam and against Turkey’s membership to the European Union. He has already spelled out all these theses but his rhetoric will most probably become tougher ahead of the second stage.

Sarkozy is trying to involve the Armenian issue in this context too. On April 24, he visited the statue of Komitas in Paris and attended the ceremony of commemoration of the victims of the Armenian genocide. “France recognized those events as a genocide and the whole world knows that it was a genocide since the Armenians were slaughtered only because they were Armenians,” said Sarkozy. He assured that he will present a new draft law on the genocide in June.

It is clear that by dwelling on the genocide of Armenians Sarkozy tried to communicate that he will not allow Turkey to the European Union to receive the votes of the supporters of “clean” Europe.

The same mindset reigns in other European countries where the right-nationalist ideas are more and more popular. In this context, the Armenian issue may be one of the arguments in the political destiny of Europe, which, in case of Sarkozy’s victory, might expect a surge of nationalism. The Muslim world is already preparing for such an outburst. Armenia does not need to be caught off guard.