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Institute for War and Peace Reporting IWPR, UK
CRS Issue 629
February 11, 2012 Saturday
Armenian Politicians Claim Credit for France's Genocide Law
Others say French decision was not really influenced by Yerevan.
By Hasmik Hambardzumyan
As politicians in Armenia vie to prove they prompted France to pass a
genocide denial bill, some analysts say the vote probably had more to
do with French politics than any pressure coming out of Yerevan.
On January 23, France's Senate approved a bill making it a criminal
offence to deny that a genocide of Armenians took place in Ottoman
Turkey in 1915-16. The lower house of parliament passed the bill in
December.
"This day will be written in gold letters, and not just in the history
of friendship between the French and Armenian peoples - it will enter
the global history of human rights and create fresh mechanisms for the
prevention of crimes against humanity," Armenian foreign minister
Edward Nalbandyan wrote in a letter to his French counterpart.
The vote was the outcome of a process lasting over two decades, driven
along by France's half-a-million-strong Armenian diaspora.
The law would need to be signed by President Nicolas Sarkozy for it to
come into force. He is in favour, but the bill has been put on hold
following a request by some lawmakers to have France's top
constitutional body review its legality.
The Senate decision met with hostility from Turkey, which has always
denied that genocide took place.
Some 20 other countries have officially recognised the events of
1915-16 as an Armenian genocide, though far fewer have opted to
criminalise denial.
In Armenia, the Senate vote was met with delight, with a spontaneous
demonstration outside the French embassy.
Eduard Sharmazanov, spokesman for President Serzh Sargsyan's ruling
Republic Party, seized the initiative in claiming a diplomatic
triumph.
"I can say that the Senate's approval of this bill demonstrates that
the Armenian authorities headed by President Sargsyan have for all
these years pursued a flexible, a correct and most importantly a
pro-Armenian foreign policy," he said.
Levon Zurabyan of the opposition Armenian National Congress disputed
the importance of the Yerevan government's role, saying the decision
was prompted instead by lobbying from the Armenian diaspora, as well
as by France's desire to take a lead on human rights issues and on
change in the Middle East.
"It was these specific factors that played the decisive role," he
said. "It's therefore immoral for the current Armenian regime to grasp
at the laurels for this historic decision."
Most of the Armenians in France are descended from refugees who fled
the Ottoman Empire. The community is centred on Marseille, which at
100,000 has the largest Armenian diaspora group in Europe, and
numerous cultural centres, schools and churches.
Some French politicians argued against the bill on the grounds that
Sarkozy was using it to win the Armenian vote in the run-up to the
April election. Opinion polls show Sarkozy lagging behind socialist
rival Francois Hollande.
Giro Manoyan, a leading figure in Armenia's opposition Dashnaktsutyun
party, said campaigning for the French presidential election had
undoubtedly been a significant factor in the vote, although by no
means the only one.
Richard Giragosian, a leading analyst and director of the Regional
Studies Centre in Yerevan, said the real driving forces behind the
decision had a lot to do with French politics, both domestic and
external.
"In many ways it was about French domestic politics - Sarkozy's
re-election. It was also a way to damage Turkey's attempt to join the
European Union. And there is France's desire to enhance its role in
international politics," he said.
Giragosian suggested that the French vote might ultimately be good
rather than bad for Armenian-Turkish relations.
The two countries do not have formal diplomatic relations and the
border between them remains closed. Attempts at a rapprochement have
ground to a halt and there appears to be little impetus to revive it
at the moment.
"In the short term, because of Turkish over-reactions on the issue, it
makes diplomacy difficult," he said. "In the medium term, however, it
may push Turkey towards restarting the normalisation of ties with
Armenia, for two reasons. First, because Turkey will start looking
east, rather than west towards the European Union. Second, Turkey may
opt to return to diplomatic engagement with Armenia as a way of
addressing the genocide issue, because it's facing increasing pressure
over genocide recognition following the [French] vote."
Hasmik Hambardzumyan is a journalist working for the www.panorama.am
news site. Lusine Avagyan and Seda Muradyan from IWPR also contributed
material for this article.
Source: IWPR
Link:http://iwpr.net/report-news/armenian-politicians-claim-credit-frances-genocide-law
CRS Issue 629
February 11, 2012 Saturday
Armenian Politicians Claim Credit for France's Genocide Law
Others say French decision was not really influenced by Yerevan.
By Hasmik Hambardzumyan
As politicians in Armenia vie to prove they prompted France to pass a
genocide denial bill, some analysts say the vote probably had more to
do with French politics than any pressure coming out of Yerevan.
On January 23, France's Senate approved a bill making it a criminal
offence to deny that a genocide of Armenians took place in Ottoman
Turkey in 1915-16. The lower house of parliament passed the bill in
December.
"This day will be written in gold letters, and not just in the history
of friendship between the French and Armenian peoples - it will enter
the global history of human rights and create fresh mechanisms for the
prevention of crimes against humanity," Armenian foreign minister
Edward Nalbandyan wrote in a letter to his French counterpart.
The vote was the outcome of a process lasting over two decades, driven
along by France's half-a-million-strong Armenian diaspora.
The law would need to be signed by President Nicolas Sarkozy for it to
come into force. He is in favour, but the bill has been put on hold
following a request by some lawmakers to have France's top
constitutional body review its legality.
The Senate decision met with hostility from Turkey, which has always
denied that genocide took place.
Some 20 other countries have officially recognised the events of
1915-16 as an Armenian genocide, though far fewer have opted to
criminalise denial.
In Armenia, the Senate vote was met with delight, with a spontaneous
demonstration outside the French embassy.
Eduard Sharmazanov, spokesman for President Serzh Sargsyan's ruling
Republic Party, seized the initiative in claiming a diplomatic
triumph.
"I can say that the Senate's approval of this bill demonstrates that
the Armenian authorities headed by President Sargsyan have for all
these years pursued a flexible, a correct and most importantly a
pro-Armenian foreign policy," he said.
Levon Zurabyan of the opposition Armenian National Congress disputed
the importance of the Yerevan government's role, saying the decision
was prompted instead by lobbying from the Armenian diaspora, as well
as by France's desire to take a lead on human rights issues and on
change in the Middle East.
"It was these specific factors that played the decisive role," he
said. "It's therefore immoral for the current Armenian regime to grasp
at the laurels for this historic decision."
Most of the Armenians in France are descended from refugees who fled
the Ottoman Empire. The community is centred on Marseille, which at
100,000 has the largest Armenian diaspora group in Europe, and
numerous cultural centres, schools and churches.
Some French politicians argued against the bill on the grounds that
Sarkozy was using it to win the Armenian vote in the run-up to the
April election. Opinion polls show Sarkozy lagging behind socialist
rival Francois Hollande.
Giro Manoyan, a leading figure in Armenia's opposition Dashnaktsutyun
party, said campaigning for the French presidential election had
undoubtedly been a significant factor in the vote, although by no
means the only one.
Richard Giragosian, a leading analyst and director of the Regional
Studies Centre in Yerevan, said the real driving forces behind the
decision had a lot to do with French politics, both domestic and
external.
"In many ways it was about French domestic politics - Sarkozy's
re-election. It was also a way to damage Turkey's attempt to join the
European Union. And there is France's desire to enhance its role in
international politics," he said.
Giragosian suggested that the French vote might ultimately be good
rather than bad for Armenian-Turkish relations.
The two countries do not have formal diplomatic relations and the
border between them remains closed. Attempts at a rapprochement have
ground to a halt and there appears to be little impetus to revive it
at the moment.
"In the short term, because of Turkish over-reactions on the issue, it
makes diplomacy difficult," he said. "In the medium term, however, it
may push Turkey towards restarting the normalisation of ties with
Armenia, for two reasons. First, because Turkey will start looking
east, rather than west towards the European Union. Second, Turkey may
opt to return to diplomatic engagement with Armenia as a way of
addressing the genocide issue, because it's facing increasing pressure
over genocide recognition following the [French] vote."
Hasmik Hambardzumyan is a journalist working for the www.panorama.am
news site. Lusine Avagyan and Seda Muradyan from IWPR also contributed
material for this article.
Source: IWPR
Link:http://iwpr.net/report-news/armenian-politicians-claim-credit-frances-genocide-law