FRENCH PARLIAMENT ADOPTS RESOLUTION ON ARMENIAN ALLEGATIONS
Journal of Turkish Weekly
Dec 22 2011
PARIS (A.A) - French Parliament adopted on Thursday a resolution
that criminalizes rejection of Armenian allegations pertaining to
the incidents of 1915.
Only 70 out of 577 parliamentarians joined the voting of the resolution
which was adopted with majority of votes.
The resolution envisages "one-year prison term and 45,000 Euro fine for
those who deny genocide recognized by French laws." French Parliament
had recognized so-called Armenian genocide in 1915 on January 29, 2001.
The draft criminalizing the rejection of Armenian allegations had
first been approved in 2006, but it could not become a law as French
President Nicolas Sarkozy prevented its presentation to Senate.
Now, the senate's approval is necessary to make the resolution a law.
Turkey strongly opposes the issue of the incidents of 1915 being
used as a tool in French politics. Many believe that French President
Sarkozy supports the Armenian resolution in order to garner support
from France's Armenian population that number around 500,000.
France will hold the first round of next year's presidential election
on April 22 and the second round run-off on May 6. Sarkozy is running
for a second term.
Thursday, 22 December 2011
Journal of Turkish Weekly
Dec 22 2011
PARIS (A.A) - French Parliament adopted on Thursday a resolution
that criminalizes rejection of Armenian allegations pertaining to
the incidents of 1915.
Only 70 out of 577 parliamentarians joined the voting of the resolution
which was adopted with majority of votes.
The resolution envisages "one-year prison term and 45,000 Euro fine for
those who deny genocide recognized by French laws." French Parliament
had recognized so-called Armenian genocide in 1915 on January 29, 2001.
The draft criminalizing the rejection of Armenian allegations had
first been approved in 2006, but it could not become a law as French
President Nicolas Sarkozy prevented its presentation to Senate.
Now, the senate's approval is necessary to make the resolution a law.
Turkey strongly opposes the issue of the incidents of 1915 being
used as a tool in French politics. Many believe that French President
Sarkozy supports the Armenian resolution in order to garner support
from France's Armenian population that number around 500,000.
France will hold the first round of next year's presidential election
on April 22 and the second round run-off on May 6. Sarkozy is running
for a second term.
Thursday, 22 December 2011