TURKISH STUDENT PUNISHED OVER GENOCIDE DENIAL IN FRANCE

Today’s Zaman
Nov 18 2009
Turkey

A bill making it a crime to deny the so-called Armenian genocide has
yet to be approved by the French Senate; however, French schools have
started to punish students who deny the alleged genocide.

Mustafa Dogan, a 13-year-old Turk, was suspended from a school in
Nancy after insisting that there was no Armenian genocide.

Most Armenians term as genocide a series of tragic events during a
war between Russia and the Ottoman Empire that played out in East
Anatolia. France has been determined to push Turkey to acknowledge
that the Armenian allegations are true. Turkey, in turn, has proposed
that a committee of historians, not politicians, should decide what
transpired in 1915.

The French Parliament recognized the so-called Armenian genocide in
2001, which resulted in short-lived tension between France and Turkey.

In 2006 the French National Assembly adopted a bill proposing a
punishment for anyone who denies the Armenian genocide. However,
it has been three years, and the bill has yet to be passed by the
Senate, let alone be enforced. Nicolas Sarkozy’s government is also
reluctant to see passage of the bill in parliament.

Dogan’s history teacher asked a question about the events of 1915 and
the "Armenian genocide" in a written exam. Having previously argued
with the teacher over the issue, the Turkish student became angry
and wrote, "Even if it did happen, they deserved it."

Speaking to Today’s Zaman, Dogan said his teacher threatened to
give him a zero on the exam if he denied the genocide. "This was an
important exam and necessary to finish secondary school," Dogan said.

Following the exam, the school principal phoned Dogan’s father and
requested an immediate meeting, claiming that his son had violated
French law. In turn, father Mehmet Dogan said he had not seen any
law stipulating punishing those who deny the Armenian genocide. "I
now see where your son learns such things," the principal allegedly
told the father.

Following the quarrel, the school’s disciplinary committee suspended
Mustafa Dogan for two days and gave him an assignment in which he
was to recognize the validity of the genocide within two days. The
homework was to be titled "Armenian Genocide Committed by the Ottoman
Empire: a Crime against Humanity," and Dogan was asked to research
the historical context of the events, write a detailed list of how
many people were killed and how it was organized, meet with genocide
survivors, state that he recognizes the genocide and focus on militant
Turks who committed the genocide.

While researching the events, Dogan was to not look at Turkish Web
sites or consult Wikipedia. Dogan was to prepare the assignment and
present it in front of his class. However, the Turkish student refused
to do the assignment. "We gave you a chance to correct your mistake,
now recognize the genocide!" the history teacher reportedly told him.

While Dogan claimed that the bill in question had not yet been adopted,
the teacher reportedly did not listen.

All these events point to a troubling trend in French schools with
respect to the punishment for so-called Armenian genocide denial.

The European Union adopted a law on war crimes, crimes against humanity
and genocide denial in January stating that only after a verdict has
been issued by an international court can such cases proceed to trial.

Mehmet Dogan accuses the school principal of racism. Noting that
the teacher is putting pressure on his 13-year-old son, a boy who
can easily be provoked due to his age, Dogan accused the teacher of
inciting his son’s reaction. Saying he also does not recognize the
genocide and supports his son in this, Mehmet Dogan said: "I wish he
hadn’t written ‘Even if [the genocide] did happen, they deserved it.’
This made them angry."

Officials from COJEP, a Strasbourg-based civil society organization
established by Turks, and Mehmet Dogan will meet with school
authorities on Friday to discuss Mustafa Dogan’s case.

Today’s Zaman was able to contact the principal of the Jacques
Marquette secondary school, Francis Vignola. When asked for his
opinion on the case, Vignola said he supported the sanctions placed
on Mustafa Dogan.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress