Sarkozy slams his FM for opposing genocide bill![]() PanARMENIAN.Net - French President Nilocas Sarkozy and his Foreign Minister Alain Juppe differ on the genocide denial bill that recently passed the French Senate. As CNN Turk reported, citing French media, Sarkozy criticized Juppe for his position, making the latter keep silent on the matter. On January 23, the French Senate passed the bill criminalizing the Armenian Genocide denial with 127 votes for and 86 against. Expected to be signed into law by President within 14 days, the bill will impose 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. Two separate groups of French politicians who oppose the legislation - from both the Senate and the lower house - said they had formally requested the constitutional council examine the law. The groups said they each had gathered more than the minimum 60 signatures required to ask the council to test the law's constitutionality. The council is obliged to deliver its judgment within a month, but this can be reduced to eight days if the government deems the matter urgent. Representatives of the Armenian, Pontian Greek and Assyrian communities gave appropriate readings from the Bible. “We severely condemn attacks on religions centers and sacred sites,” the Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia said. In his speech Armenian Foreign Minister thanked leadership of Massachusetts for supporting Armenian community’s initiative. Yana Amelina says NATO reiterates its call to Russia to abandon recognition of independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. |