Buenos Aires Herald , Argentina
Oct 13 2006

Denying genocide a crime in France?

PARIS – France’s Lower House of Parliament approved a bill yesterday
making it a crime to deny Armenians suffered genocide at the hands of
the Ottoman Turks, provoking anger in Turkey and raising fresh doubts
about its EU ambitions.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry said the vote would hurt ties between
the two NATO allies.
Analysts warn more is at stake than just bilateral ties, arguing that
the vote will encourage Turkish nationalists and undermine pro-EU
liberals by exposing the depth of anti-Turkey feelings in a founding
member of the European Union.
The bill might never become law, however, because it still needs the
approval of the Senate. The French government did not support the
motion and promised yesterday to oppose it when it gets to the
Senate, but Turkey said the damage had already been done.
Turkey denies accusations of a genocide of some 1.5 million Armenians
during the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire in World War One,
arguing that Armenian deaths were a part of general partisan fighting
in which both sides suffered.
However, France’s Armenian community, which at about 500,000-strong
is one of the largest in Europe, had pushed hard for the bill.
Yesterday’s motion was carried by 106 votes to 19. But it was a thin
turnout of lawmakers in the 557-seat House.
The legislation establishes a one-year prison term and 56,570-dollar
fine for anyone denying the genocide – the same sanction as for
denying the Nazi genocide of Jews.