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A MILESTONE VERDICT ON 'ARMENIAN GENOCIDE'
Today's Zaman, Turkey
Dec 25 2013
YAĆ~^AR YAKIĆ~^
The denial of the so-called "Armenian genocide" will no longer be
considered a punishable act amongst the 47 member countries of the
Council of Europe, including Armenia, thanks to a historic verdict
made by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) on a suit filed
by Turkish politician Dogu Perincek against Switzerland.
In a public statement made on May 7, 2005, in Lausanne, Perincek
said: "The claim that the Ottoman authorities perpetrated the crime
of genocide against the Armenians was an international lie." At
the instigation of a Swiss Armenian association, a local Lausanne
court found Perincek guilty of racial discrimination because of this
statement. Perincek filed a lawsuit at the ECtHR against this decision
and the court decided that Switzerland had violated Perincek's freedom
of expression.
The Armenians suffered a similar setback last year in France. In 2001,
The French Parliament had passed a law that consisted of one single
sentence, which reads as follows:
"France publicly recognizes the Armenian genocide of 1915."
This text looks more like a political declaration than a law in due
form. But it was the first step of a bigger aspiration, namely the
criminalization of the denial of the Armenian genocide. In fact,
a law to achieve this goal was adopted by the lower chamber of
the French parliament in 2006, but it was overturned by the upper
chamber. The Armenians did not give up. In 2012, a French deputy,
Mme. Boyer, initiated another law containing similar content. This
time, the same senate, contradicting what it had done six years ago,
voted in favor of this law. But this time the French Constitutional
Council disappointed the Armenians by overturning the Boyer's law. The
Armenian aspiration to make the denial of the genocide a punishable
offence was thus shelved once and for all in France. However, the
Armenians were hoping to achieve in other countries what they failed
to achieve in France. With the latest verdict of the ECtHR, this hope
is now gone for the member countries of the Council of Europe as well.
The ECtHR verdict has implications beyond recognizing Perincek's
right of expression:
First, Turkey has so far been hesitant to go to international courts
to challenge the Armenian claim of genocide because of fear of losing
the case. Now, the verdict has eased Turkey's hand.
Second, the Swiss Armenian association hoped to teach Perincek a lesson
on what not to do on the Armenian genocide issue, but it inflicted
irreparable damage to the Armenian efforts to criminalize the denial
of genocide because the verdict will now push several countries to
think twice before they consider passing a law in their respective
parliaments to recognize the Armenian genocide.
True, the recognition of genocide and punishing its denial are
two different subjects. But now that the denial has ceased to be
a punishable act, passing a law to recognize the Armenian genocide
will become an ineffective gesture to the Armenians at the cost of
antagonizing Turkey unnecessarily. Turkey should try to explain to
the member countries of the Council of Europe that passing such a
law is a futile exercise that is devoid of a field of application.
Third, the ECtHR verdict invalidates certain provisions of the EU
Framework Decision on Combating Racism and Xenophobia, especially
Article 1(c) that makes the denial of the crime of genocide
a punishable offence and probably Article 2(4), which authorizes
national tribunals to qualify an act as genocide. Therefore, the
framework decision will have to be adjusted to the new situation
created by the ECtHR verdict. Turkey should raise this issue with
the EU at the meetings of the Association Council.
Having said this, no matter how important the court verdict is,
we should not lose sight of the fact the verdict does not deny
that the Armenian genocide took place. It simply says that to state
publicly that a genocide did not take place should not be considered
a punishable act.
If wisdom prevails, both Turkey and Armenia may use this ECtHR
verdict to overcome their reciprocal prejudices and put an end to
their centennial conflict.
http://www.todayszaman.com/columnist/yasar-yakis_334918_a-milestone-verdict-on-armenian-genocide.html
Today's Zaman, Turkey
Dec 25 2013
YAĆ~^AR YAKIĆ~^
The denial of the so-called "Armenian genocide" will no longer be
considered a punishable act amongst the 47 member countries of the
Council of Europe, including Armenia, thanks to a historic verdict
made by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) on a suit filed
by Turkish politician Dogu Perincek against Switzerland.
In a public statement made on May 7, 2005, in Lausanne, Perincek
said: "The claim that the Ottoman authorities perpetrated the crime
of genocide against the Armenians was an international lie." At
the instigation of a Swiss Armenian association, a local Lausanne
court found Perincek guilty of racial discrimination because of this
statement. Perincek filed a lawsuit at the ECtHR against this decision
and the court decided that Switzerland had violated Perincek's freedom
of expression.
The Armenians suffered a similar setback last year in France. In 2001,
The French Parliament had passed a law that consisted of one single
sentence, which reads as follows:
"France publicly recognizes the Armenian genocide of 1915."
This text looks more like a political declaration than a law in due
form. But it was the first step of a bigger aspiration, namely the
criminalization of the denial of the Armenian genocide. In fact,
a law to achieve this goal was adopted by the lower chamber of
the French parliament in 2006, but it was overturned by the upper
chamber. The Armenians did not give up. In 2012, a French deputy,
Mme. Boyer, initiated another law containing similar content. This
time, the same senate, contradicting what it had done six years ago,
voted in favor of this law. But this time the French Constitutional
Council disappointed the Armenians by overturning the Boyer's law. The
Armenian aspiration to make the denial of the genocide a punishable
offence was thus shelved once and for all in France. However, the
Armenians were hoping to achieve in other countries what they failed
to achieve in France. With the latest verdict of the ECtHR, this hope
is now gone for the member countries of the Council of Europe as well.
The ECtHR verdict has implications beyond recognizing Perincek's
right of expression:
First, Turkey has so far been hesitant to go to international courts
to challenge the Armenian claim of genocide because of fear of losing
the case. Now, the verdict has eased Turkey's hand.
Second, the Swiss Armenian association hoped to teach Perincek a lesson
on what not to do on the Armenian genocide issue, but it inflicted
irreparable damage to the Armenian efforts to criminalize the denial
of genocide because the verdict will now push several countries to
think twice before they consider passing a law in their respective
parliaments to recognize the Armenian genocide.
True, the recognition of genocide and punishing its denial are
two different subjects. But now that the denial has ceased to be
a punishable act, passing a law to recognize the Armenian genocide
will become an ineffective gesture to the Armenians at the cost of
antagonizing Turkey unnecessarily. Turkey should try to explain to
the member countries of the Council of Europe that passing such a
law is a futile exercise that is devoid of a field of application.
Third, the ECtHR verdict invalidates certain provisions of the EU
Framework Decision on Combating Racism and Xenophobia, especially
Article 1(c) that makes the denial of the crime of genocide
a punishable offence and probably Article 2(4), which authorizes
national tribunals to qualify an act as genocide. Therefore, the
framework decision will have to be adjusted to the new situation
created by the ECtHR verdict. Turkey should raise this issue with
the EU at the meetings of the Association Council.
Having said this, no matter how important the court verdict is,
we should not lose sight of the fact the verdict does not deny
that the Armenian genocide took place. It simply says that to state
publicly that a genocide did not take place should not be considered
a punishable act.
If wisdom prevails, both Turkey and Armenia may use this ECtHR
verdict to overcome their reciprocal prejudices and put an end to
their centennial conflict.
http://www.todayszaman.com/columnist/yasar-yakis_334918_a-milestone-verdict-on-armenian-genocide.html