Trend, Azerbaijan
Jan 4 2012
Report: France plans quick adoption of `genocide’ denial bill
4 January 2012, 14:37 (GMT+04:00) The French government is planning to
hurry the adoption of a bill making it a crime to deny that Armenians
suffered the so-called “genocide”, at the risk of incurring further
sanctions from Turkey, dpa quotes France Info public radio as
reporting on Wednesday.
According to the broadcaster, the government plans to put the
controversial bill on the agenda of the Senate by the end of January.
The bill was adopted by the lower house of parliament on Dec.22,
prompting a furious reaction from Turkey, which recalled its
ambassador and suspended contacts and military cooperation with Paris.
It now needs Senate approval to become law.
If the bill passes the Senate, as is expected, people who deny that
the “mass killings” of Armenians by Ottoman Turks during World War I
constituted “genocide” will face a one-year jail term and a fine of up
to 45,000 euros (58,000 dollars).
More than 15 countries have recognized the slaughter of up to 1.5
million Armenians during the break-up of the Ottoman Empire as
“genocide”.
Turkey admits that hundreds of thousands of Armenians died, but denies
there was a systematic policy to eliminate them.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused French
President Nicolas Sarkozy of seizing on the sensitive issue in order
to win votes from France’s small but influential Armenian community in
this year’s presidential and parliamentary elections.
The French Parliament adopted a bill criminalising the denial of a
fictitious “Armenian genocide” last week.
Some 45 out of 577 French MPs participated in the voting, while 38
voted for and seven voted against the adoption of the bill.
The bill demands about a year’s imprisonment and a fine worth 45,000
euros for denial of the so-called “Armenian genocide”.
MPs from the French President’s “Union for Popular Movement” (UMP)
party which has the parliamentary majority, proposed the bill which
aims at criminalising denial of the so-called “Armenian genocide” to
the legislative committee of the National Assembly in early December.
Armenia and the Armenian lobby claim that the predecessor of the
Turkey – Ottoman Empire had committed the 1915 genocide against the
Armenians living in Anadolu, and achieved recognition of the “Armenian
Genocide” by the parliaments of several countries.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Disclaimer: This article was contributed and translated into English by Emil Lazarian. While we strive for quality, the views and accuracy of the content remain the responsibility of the contributor. Please verify all facts independently before reposting or citing.
Direct link to this article: https://www.armenianclub.com/2012/01/04/baku-report-france-plans-quick-adoption-of-genocide-denial-bill/
