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CONTROVERSIAL GENOCIDE BILL FAILS IN 1ST ROUND
The New Anatolian, Turkey
May 11 2006
A French Parliament sub-commission yesterday rejected a controversial
bill which aims to introduce imprisonment for questioning the Armenian
genocide claims. But the bill is still going to be discussed at the
general assembly next week.
During yesterday's debates in the Law Commission, ruling Union for a
Popular Movement (UMP) deputies harshly criticized the bill, drawn
up by a group of socialist deputies. Alain Marsaud Lois and Michel
Piron from the UMP are opposed to the bill and Piron stressed that
trying to write history with laws would result in a discredited
"official history."
After the debates, the commission made no changes to the bill and
rejected it by a majority.
However, according to the legal procedures of the French Parliament,
the bill is still going to be discussed at the general assembly next
Thursday. The majority of ruling UMP deputies are opposed to the bill,
but if they don't participate in next week's meeting, it's expected
to be approved by the National Assembly. The UMP has announced that
there will be no group decision on the issue.
To become law, the bill also has to be passed also by the Parliament's
upper chamber, the Senate. French sources say that if the Senate
doesn't approve the draft in a year, it will become null and void as
there elections next year.
Ankara: Damaging relations in no one's interests
The socialist deputies' "genocide bill" has created a row between
France and Turkey, with Ankara recalling its ambassador to France
for discussions to show its uneasiness over the situation.
Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Namik Tan said yesterday that
the French government is acting sensitively on the issue, adding that
the issue requires a process in which calm is maintained.
"Turkey would like French deputies not to approve the bill," Tan said,
"We believe that it's in no one's interests to cause uneasiness
while we have great opportunities to further improve our deeply
rooted relations."
Turks and Armenians are at odds over the genocide claims. The Armenian
diaspora claims that 1.5 million of their people were killed in Ottoman
Turkey around the time of World War I, and refer to the events as a
"genocide."
Turkey, however, says there were mutual killings by Armenian and
Muslim groups during civil unrest as the Ottoman Empire collapsed.
The New Anatolian, Turkey
May 11 2006
A French Parliament sub-commission yesterday rejected a controversial
bill which aims to introduce imprisonment for questioning the Armenian
genocide claims. But the bill is still going to be discussed at the
general assembly next week.
During yesterday's debates in the Law Commission, ruling Union for a
Popular Movement (UMP) deputies harshly criticized the bill, drawn
up by a group of socialist deputies. Alain Marsaud Lois and Michel
Piron from the UMP are opposed to the bill and Piron stressed that
trying to write history with laws would result in a discredited
"official history."
After the debates, the commission made no changes to the bill and
rejected it by a majority.
However, according to the legal procedures of the French Parliament,
the bill is still going to be discussed at the general assembly next
Thursday. The majority of ruling UMP deputies are opposed to the bill,
but if they don't participate in next week's meeting, it's expected
to be approved by the National Assembly. The UMP has announced that
there will be no group decision on the issue.
To become law, the bill also has to be passed also by the Parliament's
upper chamber, the Senate. French sources say that if the Senate
doesn't approve the draft in a year, it will become null and void as
there elections next year.
Ankara: Damaging relations in no one's interests
The socialist deputies' "genocide bill" has created a row between
France and Turkey, with Ankara recalling its ambassador to France
for discussions to show its uneasiness over the situation.
Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Namik Tan said yesterday that
the French government is acting sensitively on the issue, adding that
the issue requires a process in which calm is maintained.
"Turkey would like French deputies not to approve the bill," Tan said,
"We believe that it's in no one's interests to cause uneasiness
while we have great opportunities to further improve our deeply
rooted relations."
Turks and Armenians are at odds over the genocide claims. The Armenian
diaspora claims that 1.5 million of their people were killed in Ottoman
Turkey around the time of World War I, and refer to the events as a
"genocide."
Turkey, however, says there were mutual killings by Armenian and
Muslim groups during civil unrest as the Ottoman Empire collapsed.