Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Switzerland
March 10 2007
Turkish politician fined over genocide denial
A Swiss district court has found a Turkish politician, Doðu Perinçek,
guilty of racial discrimination for denying the 1915 Armenian
massacre was genocide.
The court in Lausanne agreed with the prosecutor’s demand and handed
Perinçek a suspended fine of SFr9,000 ($7,336) as well as a one:off
financial penalty of SFr3,000.
The court also ruled that Perinçek would have to pay SFr1,000 to the
Swiss:Armenian Association as a symbolic gesture.
The politician, whose left:wing Turkish Workers’ Party has no seats
in the Turkish parliament, was brought to court after calling the
genocide "an international lie" during a public speech in Lausanne in
July 2005.
Under the Swiss penal code any act of denying, belittling or
justifying genocide is a violation of the country’s anti:racism
legislation.
And Lausanne is the capital of canton Vaud, one of two Swiss cantons
along with Geneva where the parliaments have voted in recent years to
recognise the Armenian massacre as genocide.
Judge Pierre:Henri Winzap accused Perinçek of being "a racist" and
"an arrogant provocateur" who was familiar with Swiss law on
historical revisionism.
According to Winzap, the politician’s action "appears to have racist
and nationalist motives". The Armenian genocide is "an established
historical fact according to the Swiss public", he added.
Perinçek’s lawyers have called into question the authority of the
district court to hear such a case. The Turkish politician said he
would appeal against the verdict, which he called "racist and
imperialist".
He admitted in court earlier in the week that there had been
massacres but said there could be no talk of genocide. "I have not
denied genocide because there was no genocide," he argued.
Armenians maintain the mass killings in 1915 were genocide, a charge
Turkey disputes.
Reactions
Sarkis Shahinian, co:president of the Swiss:Armenian Association,
said there was "great relief" among the community. Shahinian said it
was deplorable that the Turkish state had let itself get involved
with ultra:nationalists like Perinçek.
"It is a big problem. It is necessary that Turkey recognizes the
genocide."
Ferai Tinç, a foreign affairs columnist with Turkey’s Hurriyet
newspaper, told swissinfo the case had been widely followed in the
country because it was the first time a Turkish citizen had been
tried abroad for expressing their opinion.
"We see it as a trial of freedom of thought, and freedom of opinion,"
Tinç said.
"Whether we agree or not with Perinçek, we find these type of [penal]
articles against freedom of opinion dangerous because we are
struggling in our country to achieve freedom of thought."
Tinç added that the decision to make Perinçek stand trial would
"create a problem of confidence" between Switzerland and Turkey.
Shaky ground
Ties between Bern and Ankara are already on shaky ground.
Tensions reached a peak in 2005 after Turkey criticised the Swiss
authorities’ decision to investigate Perinçek. Ankara followed it up
by cancelling an official trip to Turkey by the then Swiss economics
minister, Joseph Deiss.
The next event to raise eyebrows was a visit to Turkey by Swiss
Justice Minister Christopher Blocher last October when he announced
that Switzerland’s anti:racism legislation was incompatible with
freedom of expression.
The comments were welcomed by Ankara but caused a storm of protest in
Switzerland.
Blocher came in for renewed criticism by the media and some
politicians last weekend when he received his Turkish counterpart
Cemil Cicek in Bern. According to the justice ministry, bilateral
issues ? and not the trial ? were discussed.
On Friday Blocher said he did not want to comment on the trial
directly, but did not expect the verdict to lead to a serious
deterioration in Swiss:Turkish relations.