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ANKARA: Turkey slams passing of French genocide denial bill

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  • ANKARA: Turkey slams passing of French genocide denial bill

    NTV MSNBC, Turkey
    Oct 14 2006

    Turkey slams passing of French genocide denial bill


    The Armenian Patriarch warned that the new law will strengthen the
    hands of far right nationalists in both France and Turkey.


    NTV-MSNBC
    Güncelleme: 17:05 TSÝ 13 Ekim 2006 CumaANKARA / ISTANBUL - The
    passing of controversial legislation by the French parliament
    outlawing the denial of allegations that the Ottoman Empire massacred
    Armenians during the First World War has sparked an outpouring of
    criticism across Turkey. The bill, approved by the lower house of the
    French parliament on Thursday, foresees fines of 45,000 euros and up
    to one year behind bars for those found guilty of denying the so
    called genocide.


    Deniz Baykal, chairman of the opposition Republican People's Party
    (CHP), said it was impossible to mortgage history by making such
    decisions. `This decision aims at preventing talks over historical
    facts,' he said. Mehmet Agar, the leader of the opposition True Path
    Party (DYP), said that the decision was a violation of democracy,
    human rights and freedom of expression. `It will lead to
    irrecoverable damage in the bilateral relations between Turkey and
    France,' Agar said.

    Another to criticise the decision of the French parliament was Mesrob
    II, the Armenian Patriarch in Turkey, who said that the new
    legislation will strengthen the hands of not only Turkish but also
    Armenian extreme nationalist and racist groups. `The French, who have
    put several obstacles before Turkey on its road to the EU, have given
    a major blow to the very limited dialogue between Turkey and
    Armenia,' he said. `I think that this resolution, adopted by the
    French parliament, is anti-democratic because it limits personal
    freedom of expression.'

    Turkey's leading business lobby group, the Turkish Industrialists'
    and Businessmen's Association (TUSIAD), said that the vote of the
    French parliament was a great mistake and was contrary to the
    European Union's philosophy and its standards of democracy. In a
    statement issued late Thursday TUSIAD said that France had mortgaged
    its foreign policy in order to gain the votes of the Armenians in
    France. French politicians didn't have the required authority and
    expertise to make a judgement on the issue, the statement said.

    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
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