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FRENCH SENATE APPROVES CONTROVERSIAL GENOCIDE LAW
RTT News
http://www.rttnews.com/Story.aspx?type=msgn&Id=1803487&SM=1
Jan 24 2012
(RTTNews) - The French Senate on Monday passed a controversial bill
making it a crime to deny officially recognized genocides, including
the World War I-era mass killings of Armenians under the Ottoman
Empire. The move has triggered strong objections from Turkey.
The measure, which stipulates a year in jail and a fine of EUR 45,000
on anyone in France denying genocide, was approved 127 votes to 86 in
the Senate. It will now be sent to the French President for signing it
into law, as the Lower House of the Parliament, the National Assembly,
had passed the measure in December.
The bill has evoked strong objections from Turkey, which recalled its
envoy from France and froze ties with Paris after it was passed by
the French National Assembly last month. Ankara had also threatened
then to take further actions against France if the French Senate
passed the measure.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had described the bill
as discriminatory and xenophobic, and announced a set of sanctions
against France.
Erdogan had declared then that Turkey was suspending all economic,
political, military meetings with France in protest. He also said
permission would be denied to all French military planes and warships
to land or dock in Turkey, and added that more punitive actions against
Paris would follow if the measure was cleared by the French Senate.
Soon after the French Senate approved the bill late on Monday, Turkish
Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin condemned the measure and said: "The
decision made by the Senate is a great injustice and shows total lack
of respect for Turkey."
Meanwhile, the Turkish Embassy in Paris warned that France-Turkey
relations would be permanently damaged if Sarkozy signed the
controversial measure into law. Incidentally, the legislation was
tabled in the Parliament by Sarkozy's UMP party.
Critics see the move by the UMP party as a political tactic aimed at
gaining the support of some half a million ethnic Armenians living in
France ahead of the upcoming Presidential elections in which Sarkozy
is seeking re-election as UMP candidate.
During a visit to Armenia in October, Sarkozy had urged Turkey to
recognize the mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks as genocide,
saying: "Turkey, which is a great country, would honor itself by
revisiting its history like other countries in the world have done."
Armenians claim that at least 1.5 million were killed by the Ottoman
Turks in 1915-16. Nonetheless, Turkey denies the occurrence of any
"genocide" of Armenians, insisting that those killed were victims
of the chaotic times during the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and
before the birth of modern Turkey in 1923. However, more than 20
countries have formally recognized the mass killings of Armenians
under the Ottoman Empire as genocide.
Turkey and Armenia have not had any diplomatic or economic relations
after Armenia declared its independence in 1991. In addition, Turkey
also closed its borders with Armenia in 1993 as a token of support
for Azerbaijan, which had a territorial conflict with Armenia.
RTT News
http://www.rttnews.com/Story.aspx?type=msgn&Id=1803487&SM=1
Jan 24 2012
(RTTNews) - The French Senate on Monday passed a controversial bill
making it a crime to deny officially recognized genocides, including
the World War I-era mass killings of Armenians under the Ottoman
Empire. The move has triggered strong objections from Turkey.
The measure, which stipulates a year in jail and a fine of EUR 45,000
on anyone in France denying genocide, was approved 127 votes to 86 in
the Senate. It will now be sent to the French President for signing it
into law, as the Lower House of the Parliament, the National Assembly,
had passed the measure in December.
The bill has evoked strong objections from Turkey, which recalled its
envoy from France and froze ties with Paris after it was passed by
the French National Assembly last month. Ankara had also threatened
then to take further actions against France if the French Senate
passed the measure.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had described the bill
as discriminatory and xenophobic, and announced a set of sanctions
against France.
Erdogan had declared then that Turkey was suspending all economic,
political, military meetings with France in protest. He also said
permission would be denied to all French military planes and warships
to land or dock in Turkey, and added that more punitive actions against
Paris would follow if the measure was cleared by the French Senate.
Soon after the French Senate approved the bill late on Monday, Turkish
Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin condemned the measure and said: "The
decision made by the Senate is a great injustice and shows total lack
of respect for Turkey."
Meanwhile, the Turkish Embassy in Paris warned that France-Turkey
relations would be permanently damaged if Sarkozy signed the
controversial measure into law. Incidentally, the legislation was
tabled in the Parliament by Sarkozy's UMP party.
Critics see the move by the UMP party as a political tactic aimed at
gaining the support of some half a million ethnic Armenians living in
France ahead of the upcoming Presidential elections in which Sarkozy
is seeking re-election as UMP candidate.
During a visit to Armenia in October, Sarkozy had urged Turkey to
recognize the mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks as genocide,
saying: "Turkey, which is a great country, would honor itself by
revisiting its history like other countries in the world have done."
Armenians claim that at least 1.5 million were killed by the Ottoman
Turks in 1915-16. Nonetheless, Turkey denies the occurrence of any
"genocide" of Armenians, insisting that those killed were victims
of the chaotic times during the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and
before the birth of modern Turkey in 1923. However, more than 20
countries have formally recognized the mass killings of Armenians
under the Ottoman Empire as genocide.
Turkey and Armenia have not had any diplomatic or economic relations
after Armenia declared its independence in 1991. In addition, Turkey
also closed its borders with Armenia in 1993 as a token of support
for Azerbaijan, which had a territorial conflict with Armenia.