PARLIAMENTARIANS WARN FRENCH COUNTERPARTS AGAINST PASSING ‘GENOCIDE’ BILL

New Anatolian, Turkey
May 16 2006

Turkish Parliamentarians Union head Hasan Korkmazcan said yesterday
that a bill about the so-called Armenian genocide facing the French
Parliament this week will set a historical test for bilateral
relations, while French Ambassador to Ankara Paul Poudade asserted
that the French government opposes the bill.

The debates about the bill proposing prison terms and fines to those
who question the claims are mounting as the date for debates of the
bill looms.

Speaking at a press conference in Parliament yesterday, Korkmazcan
said that all the propaganda steps taken regarding the so-called
Armenian genocide are aiding and abetting terrorism.

Underlining that some politicians who have been trapped by the web of
the Armenian lobby in France, which has a limited political influence,
accepted the Armenian genocide claims, Korkmazcan said that the real
leaders of the slander campaign in France are the underground forces
behind the terrorist Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia
(ASALA).

Calling propaganda over the so-called Armenian genocide a crime against
humanity, Korkmazcan said that this crime has been committed by many
Western countries since 1974.

“The bill set to be debated on Thursday extinguishes the human struggle
for the establishment of scholarly research and freedom of expression,”
said Korkmazcan, adding that the Turkish Parliament will take steps
to effectively respond if the bill is passed.

In related news, French Ambassador to Ankara Paul Poudade said
yesterday that the French government opposes the bill. Poudade also
expressed hope that the bill won’t be passed and Turkish-French
relations won’t be harmed.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress