‘ARMENIAN BILL IS VIOLATION OF FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION’

The New Anatolian
Oct 18 2006

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
yesterday expressed concern about the French Parliament’s passage of
a bill to criminalize questioning of the Armenian genocide claims.

In a letter sent to the president of the French Senate, Christian
Poncelet, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Miklos Haraszti
asked the Senators to reject the bill when it reaches the upper
chamber.

"I acknowledge the humanitarian intentions of those members of
the assembly who support this proposal. However, the adoption of
the amendment raises serious concerns with regard to international
standards of freedom of _expression," wrote Haraszti.

"It is in the name of these same standards that I continue to call upon
Turkey to remove Article 301 of the Penal Code, ‘Insulting Turkish
identity’, which prosecutors in Turkey repeatedly use in the context
of the Armenian genocide debate."

France recognized the genocide claims in a 2001 law. The proposed
bill would introduce punishment for denial of up to one year in prison
and a fine of 45,000 euros.

"Both the fact of criminalization of statements, and the severity
of the sanctions would infringe upon editorial freedom in France,"
added Haraszti.

"The adoption of the amendment by France, a nation with a longstanding
tradition of freedom of _expression, could set a dangerous precedent
for other nations of the OSCE."

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress