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SWISS PROSECUTOR PROBES BAGÄS OVER GENOCIDE REMARKS, SPARKS DIPLOMATIC ROW
Today's Zaman
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-270604-swiss-prosecutor-probes-bagis-over-genocide-remarks-sparks-diplomatic-row.html
Feb 7 2012
Turkey
A Zurich prosecutor on Monday launched an investigation into remarks by
Egemen BagıÅ~_, Turkey's EU affairs minister and chief EU negotiator,
after he said in Zurich that there was no Armenian genocide and that
Swiss authorities could arrest him if they wanted to.
Turkey swiftly responded to the news of investigation, with the
Swiss ambassador in Ankara being summoned to the Foreign Ministry on
Monday afternoon. Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Feridun Sinirlioglu, who met Swiss Ambassador Raimund Kunz, demanded
an official explanation and informed Kunz that the investigation was
"unacceptable," sources said.
News about the prosecution's move was published in the Swiss daily Neue
Zurcher Zeitung. The Zurich Chief Prosecutor's Office launched the
investigation into BagıÅ~_'s remarks -- which he made last month in
Zurich on his way back from the World Economic Forum at Davos -- based
on a complaint filed by members of Switzerland's Armenian community.
Zurich State Prosecutor Christine Braunschweig was quoted by the daily
as having said: "Last week we received a petition about this issue,
informing us that Mr. BagıÅ~_ violated the anti-racism Article 261 of
the Swiss Penal Code. Our prosecutor's office has taken this allegation
seriously and launched an investigation. We will investigate whether
Egemen BagıÅ~_ uttered words denying the Armenian genocide as asserted
in the petition. We will also see if he has diplomatic immunity. At
the end of this, we will press charges against him if there indeed
is a violation and if he cannot benefit from diplomatic immunity."
Cihangir Å~^ahin, BagıÅ~_'s press secretary, said the minister
will not comment on the issue until the prosecutor's preliminary
investigation is completed.
The Zurich prosecutor was "out of line" according to at least one
deputy chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK
Party). The AK Party's Omer Celik said, "The Zurich prosecutor was
out of line launching an inquiry into a minister of the Republic of
Turkey who voiced an opinion while exercising freedom of speech."
Last week, in response to a question from a French journalist on what
he thought of a bill criminalizing denial of the Armenian genocide
adopted by the French Senate in January, BagıÅ~_ said: "Our prime
minister has said what needs to be said about this. This resolution
is null and void for us. We believe that there are more people with
common sense than those without it in France. Switzerland is another
country where it is a crime to deny the so-called genocide. Here I
am in Switzerland today, and I'm saying the 1915 incidents did not
amount to genocide. Let them come arrest me."
In 2008, Workers' Party (Ä°P) Chairman Dogu Perincek, who was
convicted by a Swiss court for rejecting Armenian claims of genocide
at a conference he attended in Switzerland, appealed the ruling at the
European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), arguing his conviction was a
violation of the free speech articles of the European Convention on
Human Rights (ECHR). He also complained of violations of his right
to a fair trial, after his lawyer was denied a visa to Switzerland.
The European court is currently waiting on the Swiss government to
submit its defense. It is expected to deliver a verdict this year. The
Republic of Turkey is listed as a co-plaintiff in the case.
Today's Zaman
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-270604-swiss-prosecutor-probes-bagis-over-genocide-remarks-sparks-diplomatic-row.html
Feb 7 2012
Turkey
A Zurich prosecutor on Monday launched an investigation into remarks by
Egemen BagıÅ~_, Turkey's EU affairs minister and chief EU negotiator,
after he said in Zurich that there was no Armenian genocide and that
Swiss authorities could arrest him if they wanted to.
Turkey swiftly responded to the news of investigation, with the
Swiss ambassador in Ankara being summoned to the Foreign Ministry on
Monday afternoon. Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Feridun Sinirlioglu, who met Swiss Ambassador Raimund Kunz, demanded
an official explanation and informed Kunz that the investigation was
"unacceptable," sources said.
News about the prosecution's move was published in the Swiss daily Neue
Zurcher Zeitung. The Zurich Chief Prosecutor's Office launched the
investigation into BagıÅ~_'s remarks -- which he made last month in
Zurich on his way back from the World Economic Forum at Davos -- based
on a complaint filed by members of Switzerland's Armenian community.
Zurich State Prosecutor Christine Braunschweig was quoted by the daily
as having said: "Last week we received a petition about this issue,
informing us that Mr. BagıÅ~_ violated the anti-racism Article 261 of
the Swiss Penal Code. Our prosecutor's office has taken this allegation
seriously and launched an investigation. We will investigate whether
Egemen BagıÅ~_ uttered words denying the Armenian genocide as asserted
in the petition. We will also see if he has diplomatic immunity. At
the end of this, we will press charges against him if there indeed
is a violation and if he cannot benefit from diplomatic immunity."
Cihangir Å~^ahin, BagıÅ~_'s press secretary, said the minister
will not comment on the issue until the prosecutor's preliminary
investigation is completed.
The Zurich prosecutor was "out of line" according to at least one
deputy chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK
Party). The AK Party's Omer Celik said, "The Zurich prosecutor was
out of line launching an inquiry into a minister of the Republic of
Turkey who voiced an opinion while exercising freedom of speech."
Last week, in response to a question from a French journalist on what
he thought of a bill criminalizing denial of the Armenian genocide
adopted by the French Senate in January, BagıÅ~_ said: "Our prime
minister has said what needs to be said about this. This resolution
is null and void for us. We believe that there are more people with
common sense than those without it in France. Switzerland is another
country where it is a crime to deny the so-called genocide. Here I
am in Switzerland today, and I'm saying the 1915 incidents did not
amount to genocide. Let them come arrest me."
In 2008, Workers' Party (Ä°P) Chairman Dogu Perincek, who was
convicted by a Swiss court for rejecting Armenian claims of genocide
at a conference he attended in Switzerland, appealed the ruling at the
European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), arguing his conviction was a
violation of the free speech articles of the European Convention on
Human Rights (ECHR). He also complained of violations of his right
to a fair trial, after his lawyer was denied a visa to Switzerland.
The European court is currently waiting on the Swiss government to
submit its defense. It is expected to deliver a verdict this year. The
Republic of Turkey is listed as a co-plaintiff in the case.