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Belgian senators reject plan to widen Holocaust denial law
RTBF Radio 1, Brussels
7 Jun 05
[Presenter] In another debate in the Senate's justice committee, a
decision had to be taken on whether or not the law on Holocaust denial
should be amended and extended to other cases of genocide. The
committee members finally decided not to make any changes. Bertrand
Haine [phonetic] reports:
[Reporter] It has clearly become fashionable over the last few weeks
to put issues off. The Senate has taken the very sensitive issue of
revisionism off the agenda. The PS [Socialist Party], the VLD [Flemish
Liberals and Democrats], the SPA [Social Progressive Alternative
Party] and the CDH [Humanist Democratic Centre] voted to remove the
articles concerned, on the proposal of the bill's author, [Justice
Minister] Laurette Onkelinx. The reason is the unhealthy climate
surrounding the issue of the Armenian genocide. Philippe Mahoux is a
PS senator:
[Mahoux] Withdrawing the two articles dealing with revisionism will
enable us to approach the issue perhaps in a slightly more
dispassionate way, because I find that the debate hasn't always been
on a very high level over the last few weeks.
[Reporter] The clear target of this is the MR [Reform Movement]. The
liberals have been accused of exploiting the issue for electoral
purposes. The MR hammered the point home by accusing the PS of the
same thing. [Senator] Christine Defraigne, MR, says the issue has
effectively been shelved.
[Defraigne] The result is that the issue of recognizing the Armenian
genocide and making its denial punishable has effectively been
shelved, and I cannot accept that people hide behind pseudo-judicial
reasons to mask a lack of political will with regard to recognizing
the genocide.
[Reporter] So finally the justice minister promised to seek the views
of all involved in calm conditions after local elections in 2006.
[Last month Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul described the
Belgian plan to extend the scope of the country's Holocaust denial law
as "a dangerous development".]
RTBF Radio 1, Brussels
7 Jun 05
[Presenter] In another debate in the Senate's justice committee, a
decision had to be taken on whether or not the law on Holocaust denial
should be amended and extended to other cases of genocide. The
committee members finally decided not to make any changes. Bertrand
Haine [phonetic] reports:
[Reporter] It has clearly become fashionable over the last few weeks
to put issues off. The Senate has taken the very sensitive issue of
revisionism off the agenda. The PS [Socialist Party], the VLD [Flemish
Liberals and Democrats], the SPA [Social Progressive Alternative
Party] and the CDH [Humanist Democratic Centre] voted to remove the
articles concerned, on the proposal of the bill's author, [Justice
Minister] Laurette Onkelinx. The reason is the unhealthy climate
surrounding the issue of the Armenian genocide. Philippe Mahoux is a
PS senator:
[Mahoux] Withdrawing the two articles dealing with revisionism will
enable us to approach the issue perhaps in a slightly more
dispassionate way, because I find that the debate hasn't always been
on a very high level over the last few weeks.
[Reporter] The clear target of this is the MR [Reform Movement]. The
liberals have been accused of exploiting the issue for electoral
purposes. The MR hammered the point home by accusing the PS of the
same thing. [Senator] Christine Defraigne, MR, says the issue has
effectively been shelved.
[Defraigne] The result is that the issue of recognizing the Armenian
genocide and making its denial punishable has effectively been
shelved, and I cannot accept that people hide behind pseudo-judicial
reasons to mask a lack of political will with regard to recognizing
the genocide.
[Reporter] So finally the justice minister promised to seek the views
of all involved in calm conditions after local elections in 2006.
[Last month Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul described the
Belgian plan to extend the scope of the country's Holocaust denial law
as "a dangerous development".]