IFEX, Canada
Oct 14 2006

National Assembly passes draft law criminalising the denial of
Armenian genocide

Français: L’Assemblée nationale adopte un projet de loi pénalisant la
négation du génocide arménien
Country/Topic: France
Date: 13 October 2006
Source: Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
Person(s):
Target(s):
Type(s) of violation(s): censored
Urgency: Threat
(RSF/IFEX) – RSF strongly regrets the first reading passage of a law
that would make it a crime punishable by prison sentence to deny the
1915 Armenian genocide. The organisation notes that memorial laws are
part of the creation of an official historical truth – a practice
typical of totalitarian regimes – and expressed the hope that
senators, who are to examine the draft law shortly, will have the
wisdom to reject it.

The French National Assembly passed the draft law on 12 October 2006.
The law would make denial of the Armenian genocide a crime punishable
by five years in jail and a 45,000-euro fine.
The law complements a 19 January 2001 law which publicly recognised
the genocide.

"There is obviously no question of going back on the recognition of
the Armenian genocide, but legislating on it will expose anyone
denying it to harsh judicial penalties set out by the 18 July 1881
law on press freedom (Article 24a). Memorial laws contribute to the
creation of an official historical truth. This practice, typical of
totalitarian regimes, is incompatible with France’s fundamental
values, starting with freedom of expression," said the organisation.

"Not only is it absurd that free expression – however contestable,
and that is not the question – should be subjected to a constraint
which is, in addition, a threat, but it seems to us that this
legalistic concept of history will be much more likely to stoke up
antagonism than to promote debate.

"It is particularly symbolic that this vote should have been held on
the same day of the awarding of the Nobel Prize for literature to
Orhan Pamuk, who was himself taken to court by the Turkish
authorities for having raised the issue of this genocide," RSF
stressed.

RSF hopes that senators due to examine the law on second reading will
pay less attention to upcoming elections and have the wisdom to
reject it. If not, it could have incalculable consequences for all
historians as well as for press freedom.

MORE INFORMATION:

For further information, contact Zuzana Loubet del Bayle at RSF, 5,
rue Geoffroy Marie, Paris 75009, France, tel: +33 1 44 83 84 67, fax:
+33 1 45 23 11 51, e-mail: europe2@rsf.org, Internet: