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HILLARY CLINTON: "THE US IS NOT GOING TO APPLY THE CRIMINALIZATION OF DENIAL OF "ARMENIAN GENOCIDE" AS IN FRANCE"
APA
Jan 27 2012
Azerbaijan
Baku. Victoria Dementieva - APA. "The US is not going to apply the
criminalization of denial of "Armenian genocide" as in France", said
US State Secretary Hillary Clinton at the meeting with the employees
of the Department of State, APA reports.
"Well, first, one of our great strengths is we do not criminalize
speech. People can say nearly anything they choose, and they do,
in our country. And so other countries, including close friends and
allies like France, have different standards, different histories, but
we are, I hope, never going to go down that path to criminalize speech.
I think it's fair to say that this has always been viewed, and I think
properly so, as a matter of historical debate and conclusions rather
than political. And I think that is the right posture for the United
States Government to be in, because whatever the terrible event might
be or the high emotions that it represents, to try to use government
power to resolve historical issues, I think, opens a door that is a
very dangerous one to go through. So the issue is a very emotional
one; I recognize that and I have great sympathy for those who are
just so incredibly passionate about it.
But I think the free market of ideas, the academic community, the
open architecture of communication that is even greater now than it
was in the past, are the proper fora for this kind of engagement,
and that's where I hope it is worked out. And eventually, people will
have their own conclusions, which needs to be respected, but we need
to encourage anyone on any side of any contentious historical debate
to get out into the marketplace of ideas. Muster your evidence, put
forth your arguments, and be willing to engage, and that's what I
think should happen on that too".
APA
Jan 27 2012
Azerbaijan
Baku. Victoria Dementieva - APA. "The US is not going to apply the
criminalization of denial of "Armenian genocide" as in France", said
US State Secretary Hillary Clinton at the meeting with the employees
of the Department of State, APA reports.
"Well, first, one of our great strengths is we do not criminalize
speech. People can say nearly anything they choose, and they do,
in our country. And so other countries, including close friends and
allies like France, have different standards, different histories, but
we are, I hope, never going to go down that path to criminalize speech.
I think it's fair to say that this has always been viewed, and I think
properly so, as a matter of historical debate and conclusions rather
than political. And I think that is the right posture for the United
States Government to be in, because whatever the terrible event might
be or the high emotions that it represents, to try to use government
power to resolve historical issues, I think, opens a door that is a
very dangerous one to go through. So the issue is a very emotional
one; I recognize that and I have great sympathy for those who are
just so incredibly passionate about it.
But I think the free market of ideas, the academic community, the
open architecture of communication that is even greater now than it
was in the past, are the proper fora for this kind of engagement,
and that's where I hope it is worked out. And eventually, people will
have their own conclusions, which needs to be respected, but we need
to encourage anyone on any side of any contentious historical debate
to get out into the marketplace of ideas. Muster your evidence, put
forth your arguments, and be willing to engage, and that's what I
think should happen on that too".