Friday, 23 December 2011Armenia has officially thanked France for approving a bill that makes it a crime to deny that Armenians suffered genocide at the hands of Ottoman Turks during World War I.
„France has proved that human rights are the most important of all," said Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian on Thursday, according to media in Yerevan.
France had reiterated that there is no statute of limitation on crimes against humanity and their denial is subject to condemnation, he said, according to a statement quoted by Armenian media and DPA.
The bill, which punishes denial of genocides by a year's imprisonment and a fine of EUR 45 000, was adopted by a large majority of parliamentarians in a show of hands after a nearly four-hour debate, DPA reported. To become law it must also be approved by the Senate.
Turkey, which rejects the categorization of the mass killings of Armenians between 1915 and 1917 as genocide, had threatened "grave consequences" if the vote passed. The French parliamentary debate was also broadcast live in Turkey.
Armenians say up to 1.5 million Armenian citizens of the Ottoman Empire were either killed or died of neglect during the war. Around a dozen countries have recognized their deaths as genocide.
Ankara says between 300 000 and 500 000 Armenians died, and argues that it was largely the result of unrest during the war following the invasion by Russian forces of eastern Ottoman Turkey.
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Friday, 23 December 2011
Novinite
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