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BBC News
Jan 4 2012
French 'genocide' bill: Senate set for January vote
The French Senate is to vote by the end of the month on a bill making
it illegal to deny that the mass killing of Armenians was genocide,
reports say.
The lower house of parliament backed the proposal on 22 December,
prompting a freeze in relations with Turkey.
Despite Ankara's angry response, government officials have told French
media that the vote will go ahead.
Turkey rejects the term "genocide" to describe the killing of
Armenians under the Ottoman Empire in 1915-16.
Armenians say 1.5 million people were either slaughtered or died of
starvation or disease when they were deported en masse from eastern
Anatolia.
Turkey says the number was closer to 300,000.
France is one of more than 20 countries that have formally recognised
the killings as genocide.
Under proposals backed by the National Assembly last month, anyone
publicly denying it was genocide would face a year in jail and a fine
of 45,000 euros ($58,000; £29,000).
A similar punishment for Holocaust denial has been in place since 1990.
'Useless' bill
Although the bill secured cross-party support among MPs, concerns have
been raised among some ministers.
Foreign Minister Alain Juppe has condemned it as "useless and
counter-productive" and predicted serious repercussions for relations
with Turkey.
Protesters from France's Turkish community rallied outside parliament
against the bill last month and Turkey's ambassador to Paris, Tahsin
Burcuoglu, was recalled to Ankara. He is now thought likely to return
to campaign against the bill's approval in the senate.
If ratified by the upper house, the bill would then go to President
Nicolas Sarkozy. Ankara has already halted military and diplomatic
relations and has threatened further measures if its passage
continues.
The decision to proceed with the senate vote five years on is being
seen as an attempt to speed up the progress of the bill.
A similar proposal was backed by the lower house in 2006 but was voted
down in the senate the following year.
French businessman Rachid Nekkaz launched a fund on Tuesday to pay the
fine of anyone convicted of the offence if it secures parliamentary
approval.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16407046
Jan 4 2012
French 'genocide' bill: Senate set for January vote
The French Senate is to vote by the end of the month on a bill making
it illegal to deny that the mass killing of Armenians was genocide,
reports say.
The lower house of parliament backed the proposal on 22 December,
prompting a freeze in relations with Turkey.
Despite Ankara's angry response, government officials have told French
media that the vote will go ahead.
Turkey rejects the term "genocide" to describe the killing of
Armenians under the Ottoman Empire in 1915-16.
Armenians say 1.5 million people were either slaughtered or died of
starvation or disease when they were deported en masse from eastern
Anatolia.
Turkey says the number was closer to 300,000.
France is one of more than 20 countries that have formally recognised
the killings as genocide.
Under proposals backed by the National Assembly last month, anyone
publicly denying it was genocide would face a year in jail and a fine
of 45,000 euros ($58,000; £29,000).
A similar punishment for Holocaust denial has been in place since 1990.
'Useless' bill
Although the bill secured cross-party support among MPs, concerns have
been raised among some ministers.
Foreign Minister Alain Juppe has condemned it as "useless and
counter-productive" and predicted serious repercussions for relations
with Turkey.
Protesters from France's Turkish community rallied outside parliament
against the bill last month and Turkey's ambassador to Paris, Tahsin
Burcuoglu, was recalled to Ankara. He is now thought likely to return
to campaign against the bill's approval in the senate.
If ratified by the upper house, the bill would then go to President
Nicolas Sarkozy. Ankara has already halted military and diplomatic
relations and has threatened further measures if its passage
continues.
The decision to proceed with the senate vote five years on is being
seen as an attempt to speed up the progress of the bill.
A similar proposal was backed by the lower house in 2006 but was voted
down in the senate the following year.
French businessman Rachid Nekkaz launched a fund on Tuesday to pay the
fine of anyone convicted of the offence if it secures parliamentary
approval.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16407046