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Today French Senate to discuss bill criminalizing denial of so-called â€œArmenian genocideâ€

23 January 2012 09:39 (UTC +04:00)

APAâ€™s Europe bureau reports that the discussions will start on the second half of the day. The bill, which was submitted to the lower house of the parliament in October, 2011, by the member of the National Assembly Valerie Boyer and her 40 colleagues and was adopted, is supported by the French government.

Prior to the discussion of the bill, there will be a vote on the decision passed by the Legislative Committee last week. According to the decision, the bill criminalizing the denial of the â€œArmenian genocideâ€ is inadmissible. If the decision is approved, the bill will not be discussed. But the decision of the committee will be more likely rejected by the ruling party Union for Popular Movement and socialists. The socialists that hold the majority of the seats at the Senate are going to vote for the bill.

Throughout the history of the French legislation, the so-called â€œArmenian genocideâ€ was mostly supported by the Socialist Party. President Nicolas Sarkozyâ€™s main rival in the forthcoming presidential elections, the unique candidate of the Socialist Party Francois Hollande shares the presidentâ€™s opinion and supports the passage of the bill by the Senate. The socialists and members of the ruling party hold 262 out of 348 seats at the Senate. Both parties call on their members opposing the bill to abstain or not to attend the discussions. The centrists holding 31 seats and communists are going to abstain from voting.

A number of politicians, historians and intellectuals oppose the bill. First of all, a question arises how right it is for the legislative body to express opinion on the historical issues. It is said that the bill runs counter to the Constitutionâ€™s clauses related to the freedom of expression. Unlike the Jewish genocide, the denial of which was outlawed by France in 1990, the lack of any international document or decision on â€œArmenian genocideâ€ is one of the major factors distinguishing these two historical events. It is noted that the document runs counter to the principles of â€œcrime and legality of punishmentsâ€, â€œfreedom of expressionâ€, â€œfreedom of investigation and scientific researchâ€ in the Constitution. A number of lawyers consider that the adoption of such a law may create problems for the law on recognition of the â€œArmenian genocideâ€ adopted by France on January 29, 2001. Every citizen of France has the right to individually appeal to the Constitutional Court. While considering the appeal the Constitutional Court will be guided by the Constitutionâ€™s clauses on individual and collective freedoms, not by the parliamentâ€™s decision on the historical events. The adoption of the bill may create additional problems for France with respect to the European Court of Human Rights. The adoption of this bill is not in compliance with the European Convention on Human Rights.

One of the points causing concern of the French society is that if the bill is adopted, the relations with Turkey may be completely undermined. Though this concern is felt in the letter sent by President Nicolas Sarkozy to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan last week, the fact that the letter was sent before the Senate discussions increases the probability of adoption of the bill.

Turks living in the European countries will march today in Paris during the Senate hearings. The Azerbaijani Diaspora organizations in France and most European countries will also join the march. Over 50 000 people will reportedly attend the march.

France officially recognized the so-called â€œArmenian genocideâ€ on January 29, 2001. The bill criminalizing the denial of the so-called genocide was adopted on October 12, 2006. On May 4, 2011, the Senate did not pass the bill calling it groundless. The National Assembly repeatedly adopted the bill on December 22, 2011. The enactment of the bill requires the approval of the senate and Presidentâ€™s signature. If the bill is rejected, it will be sent to the lower house of the parliament again.