Bağış: I will deny Armenian Genocide in France

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkey's EU Affairs Minister says not every suffering must be termed as Genocide

Turkey's EU Affairs Minister Egemen Bağış stated that nothing will keep him back from denying the Armenian Genocide in France, too.

Dwelling on the Swiss investigation launched into his remarks on the Armenian Genocide issue, Bağış noted that he can’t shift his standpoint in different places.

“Though I don’t refute suffering of those days, not every suffering must be termed as Genocide. My position remains unchanged in all parts of the world,” he said, explaining his confidence by support of the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

On February 6, a Zurich prosecutor launched an investigation into remarks by Bağış, after he said in Zurich that there was no Armenian Genocide and that Swiss authorities could arrest him if they wanted to.

Zurich State Prosecutor Christine Braunschweig was quoted as saying: “Last week we received a petition about this issue, informing us that Mr. Bağış violated the anti-racism Article 261 of the Swiss Penal Code. Our prosecutor's office has taken this allegation seriously and launched an investigation. We will investigate whether Egemen Bağış uttered words denying the Armenian Genocide as asserted in the petition. We will also see if he has diplomatic immunity. At the end of this, we will press charges against him if there indeed is a violation and if he cannot benefit from diplomatic immunity.”

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.