SWISS JUSTICE MINISTER’S COMMENTS DURING VISIT TO TURKEY CAUSE OUTCRY AT HOME
International Herald Tribune, France
The Associated Press
Oct 5 2006
GENEVA The Swiss justice minister’s comments during an official trip
to Turkey have caused an outcry at home after he appeared to criticize
the Alpine country’s anti-racism laws.
According to Turkey’s state-owned Anatolia news agency, Christoph
Blocher told his counterpart, Cemil Cicek, on Wednesday that a law
under which a Turkish historian is being prosecuted in Switzerland
for saying "the Armenian genocide did not take place" was "a headache."
Blocher then went on to say that he had invited Cicek to visit
Switzerland. When Cicek asked whether he would get into trouble if
he repeated the historian’s comments, Blocher replied: "Nothing will
happen. But if it does, I’ll go to prison with him."
A billionaire industrialist, Blocher has regularly rocked the boat
of unity in the coalition government with his outspoken positions
since he joined the seven-member Cabinet in 2003 after years on the
outside. As a leader of the nationalist Swiss People’s Party, he
has taken strong positions against asylum seekers and Switzerland’s
membership in the U.N. and other international bodies.
President Moritz Leuenberger, a Social Democrat, expressed surprised at
Blocher’s remarks Thursday, while Interior Minister Pascal Couchepin, a
center-right Radical Democrat, said it was wrong for a justice minister
to complain about his own country’s laws while on a foreign visit.
Blocher, who was in Ankara to mark the 80th anniversary of Turkey
adopting Swiss laws as a basis for its own penal code, said he would
hold a news conference on his arrival at Zurich airport Friday morning.
Anatolia reported that Blocher had expressed support for a Turkish
proposal to draw up a commission made up of historians to research
the Armenian issue.
"In countries like Switzerland … freedom of expression is necessary
for democracy to exist. No matter how much we say that freedom of
expression is important, the legislation which was adopted in 1994,
unfortunately, is an obstacle to this," Anatolia quoted the minister
as saying.
"This law was in fact one that was passed with the punishment of
those who deny the World War II genocide against Jews in mind. No one
thought at the time that it would be used against a professor from
Turkey for remarks he made during a speech to Turks in Switzerland."
"But this law does exist and it is a headache for us."
"My ministry will examine what can be done independently of the case
against Halacoglu and Perincek."
Turkish historian Yusuf Halacoglu is being investigated by Swiss
prosecutors for comments he made during a speech in Winterthur, near
Zurich, in 2004. Prosecutors said this week that they have not been
able to interview Halacoglu in person. Another case, brought against
the Turkish left-wing politician Dogu Perincek, will be decided in
March 2007.
Perincek had made similar comments about Armenians during a speaking
tour of Switzerland in 2005.
Under Switzerland’s 1994 anti-racism law, which was originally
intended to prevent Holocaust denial, it is to illegal to "deny,
minimize or justify genocide or other crimes against humanity." At
the time, Blocher voted for the legislation.
Armenians say that as many as 1.5 million of their ancestors were
killed in 1915-1923 in an organized campaign and have pushed for
recognition around the world of the killings as genocide. Turkey
rejects the claim that a mass evacuation and related deaths of
Armenians was genocide and says the death toll is inflated.
GENEVA The Swiss justice minister’s comments during an official trip
to Turkey have caused an outcry at home after he appeared to criticize
the Alpine country’s anti-racism laws.
According to Turkey’s state-owned Anatolia news agency, Christoph
Blocher told his counterpart, Cemil Cicek, on Wednesday that a law
under which a Turkish historian is being prosecuted in Switzerland
for saying "the Armenian genocide did not take place" was "a headache."
Blocher then went on to say that he had invited Cicek to visit
Switzerland. When Cicek asked whether he would get into trouble if
he repeated the historian’s comments, Blocher replied: "Nothing will
happen. But if it does, I’ll go to prison with him."
A billionaire industrialist, Blocher has regularly rocked the boat
of unity in the coalition government with his outspoken positions
since he joined the seven-member Cabinet in 2003 after years on the
outside. As a leader of the nationalist Swiss People’s Party, he
has taken strong positions against asylum seekers and Switzerland’s
membership in the U.N. and other international bodies.
President Moritz Leuenberger, a Social Democrat, expressed surprised at
Blocher’s remarks Thursday, while Interior Minister Pascal Couchepin, a
center-right Radical Democrat, said it was wrong for a justice minister
to complain about his own country’s laws while on a foreign visit.
Blocher, who was in Ankara to mark the 80th anniversary of Turkey
adopting Swiss laws as a basis for its own penal code, said he would
hold a news conference on his arrival at Zurich airport Friday morning.
Anatolia reported that Blocher had expressed support for a Turkish
proposal to draw up a commission made up of historians to research
the Armenian issue.
"In countries like Switzerland … freedom of expression is necessary
for democracy to exist. No matter how much we say that freedom of
expression is important, the legislation which was adopted in 1994,
unfortunately, is an obstacle to this," Anatolia quoted the minister
as saying.
"This law was in fact one that was passed with the punishment of
those who deny the World War II genocide against Jews in mind. No one
thought at the time that it would be used against a professor from
Turkey for remarks he made during a speech to Turks in Switzerland."
"But this law does exist and it is a headache for us."
"My ministry will examine what can be done independently of the case
against Halacoglu and Perincek."
Turkish historian Yusuf Halacoglu is being investigated by Swiss
prosecutors for comments he made during a speech in Winterthur, near
Zurich, in 2004. Prosecutors said this week that they have not been
able to interview Halacoglu in person. Another case, brought against
the Turkish left-wing politician Dogu Perincek, will be decided in
March 2007.
Perincek had made similar comments about Armenians during a speaking
tour of Switzerland in 2005.
Under Switzerland’s 1994 anti-racism law, which was originally
intended to prevent Holocaust denial, it is to illegal to "deny,
minimize or justify genocide or other crimes against humanity." At
the time, Blocher voted for the legislation.
Armenians say that as many as 1.5 million of their ancestors were
killed in 1915-1923 in an organized campaign and have pushed for
recognition around the world of the killings as genocide. Turkey
rejects the claim that a mass evacuation and related deaths of
Armenians was genocide and says the death toll is inflated.