Hubert Haenel: French Senate will never pass bill criminalizing Armenian Genocide denialOctober 24, 2008 - 15:52 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The French Senate "will never adopt the bill criminalizing denial of the Armenian Genocide," a prominent leader in the Senate said. In 2006, the French National Assembly adopted the bill criminalizing the Armenian Genocide at the hands of the Ottoman Empire. The bill was blocked by the Senate, but the vote in the lower house of the parliament dealt a blow to bilateral relations between Turkey and France. "The issue is closed. The Senate will never adopt this law," said Hubert Haenel, president of the Senate's Commission for European Union Affairs when addressing a seminar titled "The Republic in France and Turkey" at Bilgi University in Istanbul. He said the atmosphere between the two countries had changed, implying also that there was a different conjecture that would also make it difficult for the Senate to make a decision that would damage bilateral relations, the Turkish Daily News reports. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |