International Herald Tribune, France
March 9 2007
Swiss court finds Turkish politician guilty of racism for denying
Armenian genocide
The Associated PressPublished: March 9, 2007
LAUSANNE, Switzerland: A prominent Turkish politician was found
guilty Friday of breaching Swiss anti-racism laws by saying that the
early 20th century killing of Armenians could not be described as
genocide.
The Turkish foreign ministry reacted swiftly to the decision, saying
in a statement that it was saddened by the Swiss court’s decision to
punish Dogu Perincek, leader of the Turkish Workers’ Party, and to
ignore "his freedom of expression."
Perincek was ordered to pay a fine of 3,000 Swiss francs (US$2,450;
1,870) and was given a suspended penalty of 9,000 francs (US$7,360;
5,600).
Perincek was charged with breaking Swiss law by denying during a
visit to Switzerland in 2005 that the World War I-era killings of up
to 1.5 million Armenians amounted to genocide. He has since repeated
his claim, including at his trial earlier this week.
Perincek accused the judge of "racist hatred" toward Turkey and said
he would appeal the verdict to Switzerland’s supreme court.
If necessary, Perincek told Turkey’s government-run Anatolia news
agency, he would take his case to the European Court of Human Rights.
In his closing statement, judge Pierre-Henri Winzap described the
defendant as an intelligent and cultivated person, but added that to
deny the Armenian genocide was an arrogant provocation because it was
an accepted historical fact.
Switzerland’s anti-racism legislation has previously been applied to
Holocaust denial.
The president of the Swiss-Armenian association welcomed the court’s
decision.
"This verdict is very important, as it sets a legal precedent in
Switzerland and also sends a signal internationally," Sarkis
Shahinian told reporters after the trial.
The case has caused diplomatic tension between the alpine republic
and Turkey, which insists Armenians were killed in civil unrest
during the tumultuous collapse of the Ottoman Empire and not in a
planned campaign of genocide.
In its response to the verdict the Turkish foreign ministry called
into question the legitimacy of the Swiss law, and said the case was
"inappropriate, baseless and debatable in every circumstance."
"It is not possible for the Turkish people to accept this decision,"
the statement from Ankara said.
It is a criminal offense in Turkey to use the word genocide to
describe the killings, and nationalists there have reacted angrily to
moves in several Western countries to recognize the events as
genocide.