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TURKEY CONDEMNS APPROVAL OF GENOCIDE BILL BY FRENCH PARLIAMENT
Today's Zaman
Dec 22 2011
Turkey
Turkey has strongly condemned the approval of a bill that criminalise
the denial of genocide, including the 1915 mass killing of Armenians
by Ottoman Turks.
Lawmakers in France's National Assembly - the lower house of parliament
- voted overwhelmingly in favour of a draft law outlawing genocide
denial, which will be debated next year in the Senate.
"The initiative defames Turkish history on the basis of one-sided
interpretations and aims to deprive us from our right to defend
ourselves against this injustice," a statement released by
Turkish Foreign Ministry on Thursday said. It is also unjust, the
statement continued, inappropriate and contradicts relevant rules of
international law.
The statement added that it is extremely unfortunate that such a
serious issue is abused for electoral purposes in spite of all the
demarches, friendly and constructive warnings conveyed to France,
as well as promises previously received.
France passed a law recognizing the killing of Armenians as genocide
in 2001. The French lower house first passed a bill criminalizing
the denial of an Armenian genocide in 2006, but it was rejected by
the Senate in May this year.
The latest draft law was made more general to outlaw the denial of
any genocide, partly in the hope of appeasing Turkey.
It could still face a long passage into law, though its backers want
to see it completed before parliament is suspended at the end of
February ahead of elections in the second quarter.
It said the introduction of criminal sanctions to the 2001 law
paved the way for even more negative consequences, adding that such
parliamentary acts were problematic not only politically but also
legally and morally.
"This bill constitutes a grave example of politicization of history
on account of narrow political calculations and stifling of freedom
of expression by a democratic institution. France has thus preferred
to ignore the universal values which it had a share in developing,"
the statement said.
The statement stressed that the bill restricts freedom of expression
of all scholars and researchers looking at historical events from
different perspectives, adding that it contradicts the international
law, European norms, the reports of the French Parliament itself
and the earlier official declarations of the French government on
the issue.
Today's Zaman
Dec 22 2011
Turkey
Turkey has strongly condemned the approval of a bill that criminalise
the denial of genocide, including the 1915 mass killing of Armenians
by Ottoman Turks.
Lawmakers in France's National Assembly - the lower house of parliament
- voted overwhelmingly in favour of a draft law outlawing genocide
denial, which will be debated next year in the Senate.
"The initiative defames Turkish history on the basis of one-sided
interpretations and aims to deprive us from our right to defend
ourselves against this injustice," a statement released by
Turkish Foreign Ministry on Thursday said. It is also unjust, the
statement continued, inappropriate and contradicts relevant rules of
international law.
The statement added that it is extremely unfortunate that such a
serious issue is abused for electoral purposes in spite of all the
demarches, friendly and constructive warnings conveyed to France,
as well as promises previously received.
France passed a law recognizing the killing of Armenians as genocide
in 2001. The French lower house first passed a bill criminalizing
the denial of an Armenian genocide in 2006, but it was rejected by
the Senate in May this year.
The latest draft law was made more general to outlaw the denial of
any genocide, partly in the hope of appeasing Turkey.
It could still face a long passage into law, though its backers want
to see it completed before parliament is suspended at the end of
February ahead of elections in the second quarter.
It said the introduction of criminal sanctions to the 2001 law
paved the way for even more negative consequences, adding that such
parliamentary acts were problematic not only politically but also
legally and morally.
"This bill constitutes a grave example of politicization of history
on account of narrow political calculations and stifling of freedom
of expression by a democratic institution. France has thus preferred
to ignore the universal values which it had a share in developing,"
the statement said.
The statement stressed that the bill restricts freedom of expression
of all scholars and researchers looking at historical events from
different perspectives, adding that it contradicts the international
law, European norms, the reports of the French Parliament itself
and the earlier official declarations of the French government on
the issue.