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B92, Serbia
July 8 2012
French president plans new genocide law
PARIS -- French President Francois Hollande has said he plans a new
law to punish denial that the 1915-16 killing of Armenians was
genocide.
A previous law approved by the French parliament was struck down in
February by the Constitutional Council, which said it infringed
freedom of speech.
Turkey rejects the term "genocide" for the deaths of Armenians during
their deportation by the Ottoman Empire.
The issue has strained Franco-Turkish relations in recent years.
Hollande's predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy had also ordered his government
to draft a new law after the old one was struck down.
"Francois Hollande has again expressed his willingness to propose a
bill designed to curb the denial of the Armenian genocide, as he had
said during his campaign and even before," the Coordinating Council of
Armenian Organisations of France (CCAF) told the AFP news agency.
A delegation from the CCAF will meet Hollande before the end of the
month to discuss what form the new law would take, French media
reports say.
On Thursday, remarks by French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius during
a meeting with his Turkish counterpart appeared to indicate that the
Constitutional Council's ruling would make it impossible to take up
the issue again.
However, Hollande's office said on Saturday: "The president expressed
his commitments during the campaign. He will keep them.'
"We must find a path, a road that allows for a text that is consistent
with the constitution," the French president said.
http://www.b92.net/eng/news/world-article.php?yyyy12&mm=07&dd=08&nav_id=81168
July 8 2012
French president plans new genocide law
PARIS -- French President Francois Hollande has said he plans a new
law to punish denial that the 1915-16 killing of Armenians was
genocide.
A previous law approved by the French parliament was struck down in
February by the Constitutional Council, which said it infringed
freedom of speech.
Turkey rejects the term "genocide" for the deaths of Armenians during
their deportation by the Ottoman Empire.
The issue has strained Franco-Turkish relations in recent years.
Hollande's predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy had also ordered his government
to draft a new law after the old one was struck down.
"Francois Hollande has again expressed his willingness to propose a
bill designed to curb the denial of the Armenian genocide, as he had
said during his campaign and even before," the Coordinating Council of
Armenian Organisations of France (CCAF) told the AFP news agency.
A delegation from the CCAF will meet Hollande before the end of the
month to discuss what form the new law would take, French media
reports say.
On Thursday, remarks by French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius during
a meeting with his Turkish counterpart appeared to indicate that the
Constitutional Council's ruling would make it impossible to take up
the issue again.
However, Hollande's office said on Saturday: "The president expressed
his commitments during the campaign. He will keep them.'
"We must find a path, a road that allows for a text that is consistent
with the constitution," the French president said.
http://www.b92.net/eng/news/world-article.php?yyyy12&mm=07&dd=08&nav_id=81168