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Former French Justice Minister Rashida Dati: â€œI am seriously concerned about the discussion of â€œArmenian genocideâ€ bill at the French parliamentâ€

21 December 2011 14:56 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Parvin Abbasov â€“ APA. Former justice minister of France, mayor of the 7th arrondissement of Paris, member of the French and European parliaments Rashida Dati held a press conference at the Azerbaijani parliament. She spoke about the upcoming discussion of draft law criminalizing denial of â€œArmenian genocideâ€ at the French parliament. She said currently intensive discussions are held in France on this issue. â€œWe know that our Turkish friends are very concerned about this draft law, which will be discussed at the French parliament. Indeed I am also seriously concerned about it. Legal penalty against someone who doesnâ€™t accept some historic issue creates disturbance. I donâ€™t support it either it concerns Armenians or other peopleâ€.

Rashida Dati said that the draft law is expected to cause intensive debates between the MPs and senators from the pro-Sarkozy parties. â€œI am concerned about the resonance that will be caused by this issue in both France and the world. I consider that the discussions around all issues should serve not punishing the people, but making them closerâ€.

Regarding her opinion on â€œArmenian genocideâ€, Dati said: â€œI am not a historian. This question should be answered by the historians. Therefore I can not make comment on this issue. France also has painful pages in its history like other countries. France passed through bloody wars and recognized and accepted some of themâ€.

Speaking about the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, Dati said the conflict must be solved peacefully. â€œIn any case, I support the position of Azerbaijan on this issueâ€.