Deutsche Presse-Agentur , Germany
Jan 4 2012

France pushes for quick adoption of controversial genocide bill Eds:
Adds ambassador to return to Paris

Jan. 04–PARIS — The French government is planning to hurry the
adoption of a bill making it a crime to deny that Armenians suffered
genocide, at the risk of incurring further sanctions from Turkey,
France Info public radio reported 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 December 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).

On Wednesday, the Turkish embassy in Paris said ambassador Tahsin
Burcuoglu would return to France to continue lobbying against the
legislation.

“He will come back in four or five days’ time,” embassy spokesman
Engin Solakoglu told dpa. “He will try stop this bill being adopted by
the Senate.”

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.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress