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Panorama, Armenia
May 5 2011
Hratch Varjabedian: French Senate bowed to Turkish government pressure
The Upper House of French Parliament has failed late Wednesday to
approve a bill making the denial of the Armenian Genocide under
Ottoman-era a crime.
On the eve of voting Senate legislative committee appeared with
disapproving position urging to remove the bill from the voting. The
full chamber then voted by 196 to 74 to block a formal debate on the
issue.
The voting has been followed by protest actions organized in front of
the Senate building by the representatives of the Armenian community.
`It's clear that the French Senate bowed to Turkish government
pressure and simply found an excuse not to adopt this law,' Hratch
Varjabedian, one of the organizers of the demonstration, told RFE/RL's
Armenian service from the scene.
Armenian Ambassador to Switzerland, renowned chansonnier Charles
Aznavour has been following all the discussions in the Senate.
The bill drafted by lawmakers from the main opposition Socialist Party
was adopted by the French lower house, the National Assembly, in 2006
amid vehement protests from the Turkish government. It needs to be
also passed by the French Senate in order to become a law.
The influential French-Armenian community has for years been trying to
push it through the Senate dominated by supporters President Nicolas
Sarkozy. The effort has faced tacit resistance from the French
government.
From: A. Papazian
May 5 2011
Hratch Varjabedian: French Senate bowed to Turkish government pressure
The Upper House of French Parliament has failed late Wednesday to
approve a bill making the denial of the Armenian Genocide under
Ottoman-era a crime.
On the eve of voting Senate legislative committee appeared with
disapproving position urging to remove the bill from the voting. The
full chamber then voted by 196 to 74 to block a formal debate on the
issue.
The voting has been followed by protest actions organized in front of
the Senate building by the representatives of the Armenian community.
`It's clear that the French Senate bowed to Turkish government
pressure and simply found an excuse not to adopt this law,' Hratch
Varjabedian, one of the organizers of the demonstration, told RFE/RL's
Armenian service from the scene.
Armenian Ambassador to Switzerland, renowned chansonnier Charles
Aznavour has been following all the discussions in the Senate.
The bill drafted by lawmakers from the main opposition Socialist Party
was adopted by the French lower house, the National Assembly, in 2006
amid vehement protests from the Turkish government. It needs to be
also passed by the French Senate in order to become a law.
The influential French-Armenian community has for years been trying to
push it through the Senate dominated by supporters President Nicolas
Sarkozy. The effort has faced tacit resistance from the French
government.
From: A. Papazian