Hollande: the tragedy of Armenians is called Genocide

PanARMENIAN.Net - French President François Hollande attended the commemoration of the 99th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

Addressing the ceremony that was held at the Komitas monument in Paris, the French President promised to visit Armenia on April 24, 2015, the day that will mark the centennial of the Genocide. He also confirmed his visit to Yerevan on May 12 and said he is ready to continue working towards the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

Commenting on the recent statement by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the French President described it as “insufficient, although showing some progress.”

“It is our hope and belief that the peoples of an ancient and unique geography, who share similar customs and manners will be able to talk to each other about the past with maturity and to remember together their losses in a decent manner. And it is with this hope and belief that we wish that the Armenians who lost their lives in the context of the early twentieth century rest in peace, and we convey our condolences to their grandchildren,” Erdogan said in his address.

“It’s what we wanted to hear, but it’s not enough,” Hollande said. “This tragedy has one name and it’s Genocide.”

During a joint press conference with Turkish President Abdullah Gul early this year, Hollande noted that “uncovering history is always painful, but must be done.”

On January 23, 2012 the French Senate passed the bill making it a crime to deny the Armenian Genocide. The bill envisaged a 45,000 euro fine and a year in prison for anyone in France who denies this crime against humanity committed by the Ottoman Empire.

However, the French Constitutional Council ruled the bill as anti-constitutional. In a statement the Council said the document represented an “unconstitutional breach of the practice of freedom of expression and communication

Later, President Hollande pledged to redraft the law criminalizing the Armenian Genocide denial in France, stressing the need to ensure the legal framework to avoid censorship by the Constitutional Council.