REACTIONS TO FRENCH DRAFT LAW ON SO-CALLED ARMENIAN GENOCIDE #2
Anatolian Times, Turkey
May 17 2006
ERZURUM/ELAZIG/BAKU – Dozens of reaction to the French draft law on
the so-called Armenian genocide came up in and out of Turkey on Monday.
“The French people are being manipulated by Armenians to recognize
the so-called Armenian genocide. France, which champions human rights,
should not listen to Armenians who want to establish enmity based on
history,” said Dr. Erol Kurkcuoglu, Chairman of Armenian Relations
Research Center at Erzurum’s Ataturk University.
Kurkcuoglu noted that the French Parliament will vote on a draft law
on May 18th making denials of the so-called Armenian genocide a crime
in France and punishable with a fine of 40,000 Euro or prison term
of one year. “The decision of the French Parliament to pass a law on
the so-called Armenian genocide is an insult on the Turkish people.
The French do not have any scientific information on the so-called
Armenian genocide,” told Kurkcuoglu.
Firat University’s Senate made a declaration on Monday that the draft
law in the French Parliament that bans all denials of the so-called
Armenian genocide is “shameful”. The declaration stressed that
Armenia’s first premier Ovanos Kacaznuni rejected all claims of an
“Armenian genocide”. According to the declaration, what happened to
the Armenians took place during a time of war and self-defense by
the Ottoman government.
Meanwhile, university students in Baku, Azerbaijan protested the French
Socialist Party’s draft law that punishes the denial of the so-called
Armenian genocide. The protestors, including Turkish students, read
a statement in front of the French Embassy in Baku.
The statement mentioned that the Turks treated all ethnic groups
with respect in history. “It is France that committed genocide in
Algeria and other locations throughout the world,” indicated the
Baku statement.