Sarkozy, Hollande pledge to adopt Armenian Genocide bill

April 25, 2012 - 02:56 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - On April 24, both presidential candidates of France - Francois Hollande and current President Nicolas Sarkozy participated in Armenian Genocide commemorative ceremony at Memorial to Komitas and victims of Armenian Genocide in Paris. The candidates, however, didn't meet one another during the event.

Francois Hollande was the first to come to the venue. Welcoming the participants, he reiterated his pledge to adopt a bill criminalizing the Armenian genocide denial in case he comes to power.

“Despite any pressure, I will take all necessary steps for passage of the bill. The Armenian history will never be forgotten as it will never be disputed,” he said.

Sarkozy, too, pledged to adopt a bill penalizing the Armenian Genocide negation.

“As head of state, I was forced to obey the Constitutional Court's decision. However, I promise that the new text of the bill will be submitted already in June,” he said.

French Armenian community leaders commented on participation of both candidates in Genocide commemoration ceremony, given the fact that Nicolas Sarkozy partook in such an event for the first time in his term of office, in contrast to his rival Hollande.

“I am glad that both the current and future presidents of France attended the ceremony,” Nouvelles d'Arménie quoted the head of the Coordination Council of Armenian Organizations in France Frank Papazian as saying with irony.

On January 23, the French Senate passed the bill criminalizing the Armenian Genocide. The bill envisaged imposing 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.

Later, the French Constitutional Council ruled that a bill adopted by the French Senate making it a crime to deny the Armenian Genocide was anti-constitutional.

In a statement the Council said the bill adopted by parliament on January 23 represented an “unconstitutional breach of the practice of freedom of expression and communication.”

Turkey reacted furiously when the Senate approved the law. Ankara halted political and military cooperation with France and was threatening to cut off economic and cultural ties if the law took effect.

Immediately after French Constitutional Council ruling, President Nicolas Sarkozy instructed the government to submit a new draft law punishing the denial of the Armenian Genocide.