French parliament passes Armenian 'genocide' bill
Legislators vote to make it a crime to deny that killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks nearly century ago constitute genocide
France's parliament voted Monday to make it a crime to deny that the killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks nearly a century ago constituted a genocide, risking more sanctions from Turkey and complicating an already delicate relationship with the rising power.
Turkey, which sees the allegations of genocide as a threat to its national honor, suspended military, economic and political ties and briefly recalled its ambassador last month when the lower house of parliament approved the same bill.
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Turkey's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday strongly condemned the decision, saying the law should not be finalized to "avoid this being recorded as part of France's political, legal and moral mistakes."
If the law is signed, "we will not hesitate to implement, as we deem appropriate, the measures that we have considered in advance," Turkey's Foreign Ministry said. It did not elaborate on the measures.
Before Monday's Senate vote, Turkey threatened more measures if the bill passed, though did not specify them. President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose party supported the bill, still needs to sign it into law, but that is largely considered a formality.
The French parliament (Photo: AFP)
The debate surrounding the measure comes in the highly charged run-up to France's presidential elections this spring, and critics have called the move a ploy to the garner votes of the some 500,000 Armenians who live in France.
Valerie Boyer, the lawmaker from Sarkozy's conservative UMP party who wrote the bill, did not deny that, saying that politicians are supposed to pass laws that they think their constituents want.
"That's democracy," she said.
But this domestic gamble could have major international consequences. France's relations with Turkey are already strained, in large part because Sarkozy opposes Turkey's entry into the European Union. The law will no doubt further sour relations with a NATO member that is playing an increasingly important role in the international community's response to the violence in Syria, the standoff over Iran's nuclear program and peace negotiations in the Middle East.
Tradition of legislation
"It is null and void for us," Turkey's Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin said on live TV immediately after the bill's passage Monday. "It is a great disgrace and injustice against Turkey. I want to tell to France that you have no value for us in the slightest degree, we don't care."
The bill has also drawn massive protests in Paris, with thousands of Turks converging on the city this weekend to denounce it. On Monday, smaller rival demonstrations, separated by a substantial police presence, gathered outside the Senate.
The Senate voted 127 to 86 to pass the bill late Monday. Twenty-four people abstained. The measure sets a punishment of up to one year in prison and a fine of (EURO)45,000 ($59,000) for those who deny or "outrageously minimize" the killings.
Despite the potentially serious consequences, many senators did not show up for the vote, instead allowing colleagues to serve as proxies. Those in the Senate chamber, however, fiercely debated the measure over several hours.
For some in France, the bill is part of a tradition of legislation in some European countries, born of the agonies of the Holocaust, that criminalizes the denial of genocides. Denying the Holocaust is already a punishable crime in France.
Most historians contend that the 1915 killings of 1.5 million Armenians as the Ottoman Empire broke up was the 20th century's first genocide, and several European countries recognize the massacres as such. Switzerland has convicted people of racism for denying the genocide.
Armenians: strengthened by French legislation (Photo: EPA)
But Turkey says that there was no systematic campaign to kill Armenians and that many Turks also died during the chaotic disintegration of the empire. It also says that death toll is inflated.
Defining history
Boyer, the bill's author, said Monday that it seeks to protect the very human rights that France first defined during its revolution.
Others warn that it threatens those same rights, especially freedom of expression. A Senate commission, in fact, recommended against the passage of the law, saying it raised constitutional questions, and the law could still face constitutional challenges.
"It's not up to parliament to define history," said Jean-Jacques Pignard, a senator who spoke against the measure in an hourslong debate. "We can't impose repentance. Repentance is a long personal journey."
But the senators who spoke for it on Monday said it was their duty to fight against those who would deny settled history.
"Once it's written, isn't it up to us to take notice?" asked Yannick Vaugrenard, a Socialist senator. "The truth is not always strong enough to conquer lies."
While senators debated the law Monday afternoon, about 150 pro-Armenian protesters and the same number of pro-Turkish demonstrators gathered outside the building.
Those in the pro-Turkish camp held banners declaring, "Liberty, Equality, Stupidity" and "It's not up to politicians to invent history."
Turkey's ambassador to France later lamented the vote.
"Everyone is going to suffer (from this). France, Turkey, Armenia of course. There will be unfortunately a radicalization of positions of all sides," said Tahsin Burcuoglu.
But Alexis Govciyan, national president of the Council of Coordination of Armenian Organizations in France, said that the law that would protect "the memory of the victims of the genocide, and the dignity of their descendants like us will be respected."
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