French Jewish students concern over genocide debate

By Shirli Sitbon in ParisUpdated: 30/May/2006 13:59

The French National Assembly

PARIS (EJP)— The French Union of Jewish Students, UEJF, has
criticised a group of MPs after they abruptly dropped a discussion on
deniers of genocide.

On Thursday, the parliamentarians were due to discuss a new law
designed to sanction deniers of the 1915 Armenian genocide.

But the debate in the National Assembly was aborted shortly after it
began.

`Referring to possible Turkish political and economical sanctions to
avoid voting the law is an offence to the memory of 1,5 million
Armenians who were exterminated in 1915 and to their descendants,’
UEJF said in a press release.

`The UEJF deplores that the requirement of truth and moral duty aren’t
the first ambitions of the whole of our country’s political leaders,’
the organisation added in its reaction.

Turkish appeasement?

Right and Left wing MPs blamed each other for deliberately avoiding
the discussion in order to please Turkey after Turkish prime minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan had threatened to sanction France if its
parliament voted the new law in.

French Minister of Foreign Affairs Philippe Douste-Blazy said recently
he believed the new legislation on the Armenian genocide would have
been `an unfriendly gesture against Turkey’.

Patrick Devedjian, a right-wing MP of Armenian extraction denounced a
political manoeuvre.

The law was supposed to complete former legislation, voted in on
January 29, 2001, which recognises the Armenian genocide but does not
condemn its deniers.

The new legislation would make Armenian genocide denial as an offence
and recommends a year imprisonment and a 45,000 euro fine for
convicted revisionists.

Dozens of French historians criticised the law, saying legislation
should never obstruct their work. The same historians are opposed to
laws on holocaust denial have recently published a petition against
them.

Jewish support

The Jewish community has on numerous occasions supported the Armenian
community when it demanded the genocide would be clearly recognised.

The umbrella association CRIF and Bnei Brith France organised several
meetings and conferences on the Armenian and on the Rwanda genocides,
evaluating they should both be recognised just as the holocaust is.

The UEJF is deeply involved in dialogue between Armenians, Jews and
Tutsis. In February, it organised a mission to Rwanda and its
president Benjamin Abtan declared that `following the journey, the
students’ conviction in inter-memory dialogue has strengthened.’

Bnei Brith France told EJP it stood by the Armenian community although
it failed to issue an official reaction or a press release.

`We have stood by the Armenians for a long time and we’ll maintain our
position until this genocide is finally recognised,’ Marc Lumbroso,
BBF chairman said.

`Obviously this is a sensitive issue, since it concerns France’s and
Israel’ s relations with Turkey,’ stressed Lumbroso, `but we maintain
our support.’

Other community leaders explained they preferred not to criticise the
French decision to drop the debate on the Armenian genocide.

`We are French citizens and this is a delicate matter that we don’t
have to comment on,’ a Jewish official that remained anonymous said.