FRENCH PARLIAMENT TO DEBATE "GENOCIDE" MOTION

Turkish Press
Sept 30 2006

French opposition Socialist Party is again bringing a motion to
criminalize rejection of the so-called Armenian genocide to the
agenda of Parliament. In line with the Socialist Party’s proposal,
the motion will go to a vote on Oct. 12 in the full Parliament after
debate. A motion prepared by the Socialists about this issue was also
debated this May, but then was pushed back to the fall session.

MEPS: "HISTORICAL INCIDENTS HAVE NO PLACE IN REPORTS ON TURKEY"

Members of the European Parliament yesterday reacted to a just-passed
report on Turkey raising new issues. Turkey-European Union Joint
Parliamentary Commission Co-Chairman Joost Lagendijk stated that
he was uncomfortable with statements about the Greek Pontians and
Assyrians in the report. Lagendijk said that making these historical
events into a political issue by putting them into EP reports wouldn’t
benefit anyone and that he regretted the Greens’ proposal to remove
these was rejected. EP Liberal Party leader Graham Watson also said
that the report was far from balancing praise and criticism and that
the European Union should approach Turkey with understanding.