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TURKEY HAILS EUROPEAN COURT DECISION ON 'GENOCIDE' DENIAL
Today's Zaman, Turkey
Dec 18 2013
18 December 2013 /İSTANBUL, TODAYS ZAMAN
Turkey hailed a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR)
which concluded that denying the alleged Armenian genocide at the
hands of the Ottoman Empire is not a crime, saying on Wednesday the
decision is a "milestone" for the protection of freedom of speech.
The Strasbourg-based court said in its landmark ruling on Tuesday that
Turkish politician Dogu Perincek, who was convicted in Switzerland of
denying the alleged genocide, had exercised his right to free speech.
A Swiss court had fined Perincek, leader of the leftist-nationalist
Workers' Party (İP), for having branded talk of an Armenian genocide
"an international lie" at several meetings during a 2007 tour in
Switzerland.
Perincek appealed the decision at the Swiss Federal Court and took
his case to the European court in 2008 after his appeal failed.
"The ruling of the European Court of Human Rights constitutes a
milestone with regards to protection of the principle of freedom of
speech, which is a cornerstone of free and democratic societies that
respect the rule of law," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The Foreign Ministry also welcomed the ruling for its conclusion that
the alleged Armenian genocide cannot be compared to the Holocaust,
historically or legally.
The European court said in its ruling that genocide is a "precisely
defined legal concept" the existence of which is "not easy to prove" in
the case at hand. It thus said the present case should be distinguished
from those concerning the negation of the crimes of the Holocaust.
"The court doubted that there could be a general consensus as to
events such as those at issue, given that historical research was
by definition open to discussion and a matter of debate, without
necessarily giving rise to final conclusions or to the assertion of
objective and absolute truths," the court said in a statement.
The ruling, said the Foreign Ministry, underlines that those "views
which ignore the fact that the term 'genocide' has a serious legal
dimension are wrong."
The ruling has implications for other European states, such as France,
that have tried to criminalize the refusal to apply the term "genocide"
to the killings of Armenians in the final years of the existence
of the Ottoman Empire. The European court ruling is an appropriate
response to attempts in Europe to criminalize the denial of Armenian
"genocide," the statement said.
Turkey, a co-plaintiff in the case, categorically denies claims that
the events of 1915 amount to genocide, arguing that both Turks and
Armenians were killed when Armenians revolted against the Ottoman
Empire during World War I in collaboration with the Russian army that
was invading Eastern Anatolia at the time.
Today's Zaman, Turkey
Dec 18 2013
18 December 2013 /İSTANBUL, TODAYS ZAMAN
Turkey hailed a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR)
which concluded that denying the alleged Armenian genocide at the
hands of the Ottoman Empire is not a crime, saying on Wednesday the
decision is a "milestone" for the protection of freedom of speech.
The Strasbourg-based court said in its landmark ruling on Tuesday that
Turkish politician Dogu Perincek, who was convicted in Switzerland of
denying the alleged genocide, had exercised his right to free speech.
A Swiss court had fined Perincek, leader of the leftist-nationalist
Workers' Party (İP), for having branded talk of an Armenian genocide
"an international lie" at several meetings during a 2007 tour in
Switzerland.
Perincek appealed the decision at the Swiss Federal Court and took
his case to the European court in 2008 after his appeal failed.
"The ruling of the European Court of Human Rights constitutes a
milestone with regards to protection of the principle of freedom of
speech, which is a cornerstone of free and democratic societies that
respect the rule of law," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The Foreign Ministry also welcomed the ruling for its conclusion that
the alleged Armenian genocide cannot be compared to the Holocaust,
historically or legally.
The European court said in its ruling that genocide is a "precisely
defined legal concept" the existence of which is "not easy to prove" in
the case at hand. It thus said the present case should be distinguished
from those concerning the negation of the crimes of the Holocaust.
"The court doubted that there could be a general consensus as to
events such as those at issue, given that historical research was
by definition open to discussion and a matter of debate, without
necessarily giving rise to final conclusions or to the assertion of
objective and absolute truths," the court said in a statement.
The ruling, said the Foreign Ministry, underlines that those "views
which ignore the fact that the term 'genocide' has a serious legal
dimension are wrong."
The ruling has implications for other European states, such as France,
that have tried to criminalize the refusal to apply the term "genocide"
to the killings of Armenians in the final years of the existence
of the Ottoman Empire. The European court ruling is an appropriate
response to attempts in Europe to criminalize the denial of Armenian
"genocide," the statement said.
Turkey, a co-plaintiff in the case, categorically denies claims that
the events of 1915 amount to genocide, arguing that both Turks and
Armenians were killed when Armenians revolted against the Ottoman
Empire during World War I in collaboration with the Russian army that
was invading Eastern Anatolia at the time.