Turkey wants to punish MPs for using the phrase 'Armenian Genocide'

July 10, 2017 - 18:49 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Turkish parliament intends to punish opposition deputies for mentioning the phrase "Armenian Genocide" and making statements about the events of 1915. The proposal was brought forward by the ruling AK Party.

According to the proposal, parliament deputies will be fined 12,000 liras for "insulting the Turkish nation and its history", which makes up two-thirds of an MP's salary (the salary of deputies is $ 5,900 ), Hurriyet reports.

Also, the parliamentarians will be banned from using the phrase "Iraqi Kurdistan."

At the beginning of the year, a Turkish lawmaker of Armenian origin, Garo Paylan was punished for using the word "Genocide" and was deprived of the right to participate in the next three parliamentary sessions. Later, it was proposed to deprive him of his deputy mandate for "inciting ethnic hatred."

However, on April 24, on the 101st anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, Paylan demanded an examination of the law, according to which thousands of Armenians were deported from Turkey.

1.5 million innocent Armenian fell victims to the Genocide, masterminded and implemented by the Ottoman Empire between 1915 and 1923. Some three dozen countries, as well as a number of regional government bodies and international organizations have recognized the killings as Genocide.

Hurriyet. Meclis içtüzüğünde sürpriz hükümler: Frakın sonu

The Armenian Genocide

The Armenian Genocide (1915-23) was the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I. It was characterized by massacres and deportations, involving forced marches under conditions designed to lead to the death of the deportees, with the total number of deaths reaching 1.5 million.

The majority of Armenian Diaspora communities were formed by the Genocide survivors.

Present-day Turkey denies the fact of the Armenian Genocide, justifying the atrocities as “deportation to secure Armenians”. Only a few Turkish intellectuals, including Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk and scholar Taner Akcam, speak openly about the necessity to recognize this crime against humanity.

The Armenian Genocide was recognized by Uruguay, Russia, France, Lithuania, Italy, 45 U.S. states, Greece, Cyprus, Lebanon, Argentina, Belgium, Austria, Wales, Switzerland, Canada, Poland, Venezuela, Chile, Bolivia, the Vatican, Luxembourg, Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands, Paraguay, Sweden, Venezuela, Slovakia, Syria, Vatican, as well as the European Parliament and the World Council of Churches.