TURKISH NATIONALIST TO STAND TRIAL FOR ARMENIAN GENOCIDE DENIAL IN SWITZERLAND
PanARMENIAN.Net
05.03.2007 13:23 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkish nationalist, leader of the Turkish Labor
Party Dogu Perincek will stand trial in Switzerland. The legal
proceedings launched over violation of Swiss anti-racist law on the
Armenian Genocide denial may cause tension in the Swiss-Turkish
relations. The news has already made a stir in Turkey, where
nationalists, specifically members of the Talaat-pasha committee claim
"it’s a process against Turkey." Representatives of the Armenian
Association of Switzerland said this trial may become a kind of
"premiere". They say rallies in Perincek’s support and attempts to
threaten the Swiss authorities are also possible.
In September 2005 the Swiss law enforcement charged Dogu Perincek
of violating the anti-racist law by denying the Armenian Genocide
three times. Perincek called the Genocide "an international lie"
during his speech in Bern and repeated the same words in Zurich.
According to the Swiss legislation, public denial or justification
of the Armenian Genocide conflicts with the law and is viewed as a
criminal deed. Dogu Perincek made a similar statement in May 2005
and also during an event dedicated to the 82nd anniversary of the
Lausanne Treaty, reports IA Regnum.
A criminal case was also initiated against chairman of the Turkish
Association of Historians Yusuf Halacogly, who repeatedly denies the
Armenian Genocide. Official Ankara is constantly censuring the Swiss
government and the court decisions. The Swiss authorities, however,
say the juridical system functions independently of the government.