TURKEY CONCERNED OVER THE GERMAN INITIATIVE TO COMBAT RACISM AND XENOPHOBIA

ArmRadio.am
11.04.2007 18:02

Turkey has expressed concerns over a new German initiative to combat
racism and xenophobia with a template European law that could spread
moves in France and elsewhere to criminalize any denial of the alleged
genocide of Armenians.

The draft framework, essentially a recommended legal blueprint for
European Union governments to follow, is very likely to serve as
a recipe for other countries to follow the example of a French vote
last October when a bill criminalizing denial of the Armenian Genocide
was endorsed, the Turkish Daily News reports.

"This is a very wrong draft, which excludes a UN convention and brushes
aside freedom of expression and academic studies," government spokesman
Cemil Cicek told reporters after a Cabinet meeting late on Monday.

The draft negotiating framework penalizing the denial of the alleged
genocide and sentencing deniers up to three year in prison will appear
on the agenda between April 18 and 19 under the German presidency
of the European Union, Cicek said, complaining that the draft was
restricting free speech and hindering academic studies on genocide
allegations.

He said Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul had conveyed Turkish concerns
over the draft to Germany during a visit last week, adding that Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan would bring the issue onto the agenda
when he had talks with German officials during a planned visit to
Germany over the weekend.