EU SLAMS FRENCH BILL ON MASS KILLINGS IN ARMENIA AS ‘COUNTERPRODUCTIVE’
By Matti Huuhtanen, Associated Press Writer
The Associated Press
October 14, 2006 Saturday 2:43 AM GMT
The European Union on Friday condemned a French bill making it a
crime to deny that the World War I-era killing of Armenians in Turkey
was genocide, calling it unhelpful at a critical stage in the Muslim
country’s EU entry talks.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said "this decision
at this moment is helpful in the context of the European Union’s
relations with Turkey."
The bill was approved by lawmakers in France’s lower house Thursday,
but still needs approval by the French Senate and President Jacques
Chirac to become law. Turkey has said the decision would harm relations
with France.
Chirac’s government is thought to be unlikely to forward the bill
for passage by the Senate.
EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said the bill, "instead of
opening up the debate, would rather close it down." He said it came at
a bad time as the 25-member bloc was trying to avoid "a train crash"
in negotiations with the predominantly Muslim nation.
"This law is counterproductive," he told reporters.
France, which is home to hundreds of thousands of people whose families
came from Armenia, has already recognized the 1915-1919 killings of
up to 1.5 million Armenians as genocide. Under the bill, those who
contest it was genocide would risk up to a year in prison and fines
of up to $56,000.
Armenia accuses Turkey of massacring Armenians during World War I,
when Armenia was under the Ottoman Empire. Turkey says Armenians were
killed in civil unrest during the collapse of the empire.