SWISS JUSTICE MINISTER SELF-CRITICIZES ARMENIAN BILL
Zaman, Turkey
Oct 5 2006
Swiss draft bill, which would penalize those who deny the existence
of the alleged "Armenian genocide" poses a predicament to freedom of
speech, said Swiss Justice Minister Christoph Blocher to his Turkish
counterpart Cicek in the Turkish capital Ankara.
Blocher visited Turkish Justice Minister Cemil Cicek on Wednesday
in Ankara.
"There is a dilemma between this law and freedom of speech. This law
is giving us headache too," said Blocher to Mr. Cicek regarding the
so-called Armenian genocide bill in his country.
Blocher also told Cicek that they can not recognize the outlawed
Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) as a "terrorist organization", since
Switzerland has not recognized any organization as "terrorist" since
War World II, with the exception of the Nazi party and al-Qaeda.
Following the meeting of two counterparts, the visiting minister
delivered a speech at a conference held at Ankara University to mark
the 80th anniversary of Turkey’s adoption of Switzerland’s civil code.