1168) Huge Success on French Boycott - NEXT: French Film Boycott by RTUK

-RTÜK recommends boycott of French media programs
-Broadcasting Watchdog Suggests French Film Boycott
-L'Oréal next Target of Turkish Boycott . . .

RTÜK recommends boycott of French media programs
The Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) has recommended a boycott of French-produced programs and films in protest of the French Parliament's adoption of a controversial bill that would make it a crime to deny that Armenians were subjected to genocide at the hands of the Ottoman Empire.

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

French films, TV series and music account for about 10 percent of the content on Turkish radio and television, according to figures provided by RTÜK.

Şaban Sevinç, a member of the RTÜK, said French films were third in popularity in Turkey behind American and Turkish films. “France is trying to raise its voice in the world film industry. [We] hope this decision will make some noise, even if it's small, in the French film industry and art world and make them ask ‘What have we done?'”

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 French President Jacques Chirac.

Turkish consumer groups have called for a boycott of French-made goods. Higher Education Board (YÖK) Chairman Erdoğan Teziç announced this week he was returning a prestigious French medal in protest.

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

Foreign Ministry spokesman Namık Tan said at a weekly press conference yesterday that Ankara has no intention of recalling its ambassador to France in reaction to the bill. “But this should not be regarded as an indication of weakness. Our country's representative should be there to express our views to [relevant authorities] in an effective manner,” he said.

“We are in favor of acting rationally and cool-headedly and exerting efforts to take steps and develop a strategy in this way.”

October 20, 2006
ANKARA - Turkish Daily News

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Broadcasting Watchdog Suggests French Film Boycott
The Radio and Television Higher Board (RTUK) has recommended that Turkish national and local television channels and radios boycott French media.

Turkey's broadcasting watchdog said in a written statement late on Wednesday that board members had unanimously agreed that Turkish television and radio stations should avoid airing French-made programs until France drops the Armenian genocide bill.

On Oct. 12, the French National Assembly passed a highly controversial bill that makes it a crime to deny that the mass killings of Armenians during World War I were genocide.

French films, TV shows and music account for about 10 percent of the content on Turkish radio and television, according to figures provided by the broadcasting watchdog.

The Turkish Consumers Union, Turkey's main consumer group, last week decided to publicize one French company or brand every week and encourage Turks to boycott it.

French oil company Total has been boycotted and a boycott of L'Oréal will begin as of next Monday

October 20, 2006
zaman.com

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L'Oréal next Target of Turkish Boycott
Having called for a boycott against French oil company Total last week, the Turkish Consumers Union has declared that next target is L'Oréal, the world's largest cosmetics group, in protest at the adoption of the Armenian "genocide" bill in the French parliament.

Bulent Deniz, chairman of the Turkish Consumers Union, announced on Thursday that they would put all the products of French cosmetic giant L'Oréal on the boycott list next week.

L'Oréal products, including Biotherm, Cacharel, Garnier, Giorgio Armani, Inneov, Kérastase, Lancôme, Matrix, Maybelline, Ralph Lauren, and Vichy will be on the boycott list, Deniz said.

Turkey's main consumer group last week decided to publicize one French company or brand every week and encourage Turks to boycott it.

L'Oréal has been in the Turkish market since 1989 and has increased its sales throughout the country 45 percent in the last five years.

Last a boycott began for Total, a French gas station, with a reported 30 percent drop in sales.

Apart from French oil group Total, which has 500 gas stations across Turkey, other French companies such as Carrefour, Renault, Axa and Lafarge could also be facing consumer boycotts in the coming weeks.

October 20, 2006
zaman.com