Expert: panic in Turkey proves great possibility Genocide bill adoption

PanARMENIAN.Net - The current developments in France contribute to the possible adoption of the bill penalizing Armenian Genocide denial by the French Parliament, an expert said.

In a conversation with a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter, Ruben Melkonyan commented on the possibility of the adoption of the bill due to its backing by French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

“Besides, France continuously ignores Turkey’s threats,” the expert said, adding that the panic in Turkish public is also a vivid proof of the possible adoption of the bill.

“If the bill is adopted, President Sarkozy may give Turkey another chance for normalizing relations with Armenia before its ratification,” Melkonyan said.

“In event the bill is rejected, Turkey will praise its effective diplomacy for frustration of the vote,” the expert said, adding that adoption of the bill criminalizing Genocide denial is a moral issue.

Today, December 22, the French parliament is to debate the bill, which envisages a year in jail and a fine of 45,000 euros for those who publicly deny the Armenian Genocide in France.

Turkey has piled pressure on France to drop the law ahead of the vote, with President Abdullah Gul and a Turkish delegation to Paris warning its adoption will spark a diplomatic crisis and have economic consequences.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu threatened to introduce a bill on “the genocide committed by France in Algeria, where 45000 local residents died in 1945.” PACE President Mevlut Cavusoglu laid “the responsibility of possible worsening of relations between Paris and Ankara on Nicolas Sarkozy.”

Meanwhile, many French politicians stand for adoption of the bill. “The Armenian Genocide is a fact of history and a proposed French law making it illegal to deny this has nothing to do with forthcoming elections,” France's Minister for Europe Jean Leonetti has said.