COURT SANCTIONS HOLDING OF TURKISH RALLY IN BERLIN AT THE SAME TIME PROHIBITING “ANY NEGATIONIST EXPRESSIONS”

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Mar 20 2006

BRUSSELS, MARCH 20, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The Chamber of the
Supreme Administrative Court of the Land of Berlin made public its
verdict, according to which it invalidated the police decision about
prohibiting the holding of the rally envisaged by Turks on March 18 in
Berlin within the framework of the so-called “Tallaat-Pasha Action”. As
Noyan Tapan was informed by ARF Dashnaktsutiun European Armenian
Federation for Justice and Democracy, the court verdict mentions
that “statements that no Armenian Genocide took place in 1915 are a
slander which is a violation that can be punished by Article 189 of
the Criminal Code,” so is subject to criminal prosecution. To recap,
the above-mentioned article also envisages punishment “for disrespect
to the deceased”. So, the court sanctioned the holding of the rally
at the same time prohibiting “any negationist statement be it in
oral or written form”. Besides, the court called on the police to
follow this with all responsibility. “This unprecedented verdict is
a legal recognition of the Armenian Genocide and the first ban on the
Turkish negationism in Germany,” Hilda Choboyan, Chairwoman of the ARF
Dashnaktsutiun European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy,
declared. “This is the beginning of the liquidation of the legal fog
in connection with this issue. Henceforth this is the legal act of
the Land of Berlin,” she emphasized and called on the whole European
community to struggle against the negationist policy of Turkey.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress