EU: Turkey Should Not Speculate on France Adopting Genocide Bill

PanARMENIAN.Net - "Turkey has to refrain from use of the bill criminalizing the denial of the Armenian Genocide, adopted by the French Parliament, as a justification for preserving limitations on freedom of expression," stated EU representative to Ankara Hans York Krechmer. In his words, "the French bill bans only one phrase, i.e. that there was no Genocide, while the article 301 of the Turkish Criminal Code is used to prevent debate over major political issues." Some Turkish politicians state that that the adoption of the Bill by France "deprives the EU of the right to demand that Ankara hold reforms." Specifically, in their opinion, the EU does not have a moral right to demand repeal or change of article 301, which provides for criminal penalty for "insulting Turkishness." On this accusation Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk, writer Elif Shafak, editor of the Agos Istanbul-based newspaper Hrant Dink and others were indicted exactly on that article, reports RFE/RL.