Monday, January 23, 2012 10:13:21 PM
Armenian genocide denial to be banned in France as senators approve new law
Sarkozy expected to ratify bill, already passed by lower house despite diplomatic row it has sparked with Turkey
Kim Willsher in Paris
guardian.co.uk, Monday 23 January 2012 23.51 GMT
Armenian genocide denial will become a crime in France
despite protests against the law by Turkish unions.
Photograph: Adem Altan/AFP/Getty Images
French senators have approved legislation making it a crime to deny that the mass
killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks nearly a century ago constitutes genocide.
The law, which has already been passed by members of the Assemblée Nationale, the lower house, has sparked a major diplomatic row between France and Turkey, .. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/turkey .. which has threatened "permanent consequences".
Immediately after the Sénat vote on Monday night, Turkish justice minister Sadullah Ergin described it as a "total lack of respect" and a "great injustice" towards his country. Ankara had already threatened retaliation if the bill was passed.
After French MPs approved the bill in December, Turkey recalled its ambassador, cancelled all economic and political meetings, and halted military cooperation with France.
Ahmet Davutoglu, Turkey's foreign minister, had earlier warned of further measures: "If every EU (European Union) parliament implements decisions reflecting its own view of history a new inquisition period will begin in Europe."
Supporters of the bill claim 1.5 million Armenians were slaughtered in Turkey under the Ottoman authorities during the first world war in a deliberate policy that constitutes genocide. Many historians agree, but Turkey disputes the term "genocide" and claims many Turks died during fighting in eastern Turkey in 1915 and 1916.
The vote came after an entire afternoon and evening of debate in the Sénat. Defending the bill, government minister Patrick Ollier told senators that legislation was justified in the "fight against the negationist poison". He added: "This proposed legislation is part of a general movement to repress racist and xenophobic statements."
However, last week a Sénat committee warned the law would be unconstitutional because it violates the right to freedom of speech.
President Nicolas Sarkozy is expected to ratify the bill before the presidential elections in April. Turkey has accused Sarkozy of pandering to the estimated 500,000 ethnic Armenians in France to win votes in the presidential vote in April and May, in which he is expected to see re-election.
French officials urged Turkey not to overreact. Bernard Valero, a spokesman for the French foreign ministry said Paris considered Ankara a "very important ally".
Those denying or "minimising" the genocide could face a €45,000 fine and a year in jail. France recognised the killing of the Armenians as 'genocide" in 2001, but at the time introduced no legal penalty for denying it.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jan/23/armenian-genocide-denial-ban-france?newsfeed=true
===================
i hope the law is declared unconstitutional .. hate to say this gentleman is new to me
.. if you are interested in more on the struggles of Turkey toward democracy, and
reconciliation with it's history, Hrant Dink's story is worth the read .. two bits here ..
Hrant Dink
Hrant Dink (Armenian: [...] (September 15, 1954 – January 19, 2007) was
a Turkish citizen of Armenian descent[1] editor, journalist and columnist.
As editor-in-chief of the bilingual Turkish-Armenian newspaper Agos (????), Dink was a prominent member of the Armenian minority in Turkey. Dink was best known for advocating Turkish-Armenian reconciliation and human and minority rights in Turkey; he was often critical of both Turkey's denial of the Armenian Genocide, and of the Armenian diaspora's campaign for its international recognition. Dink was prosecuted three times for denigrating Turkishness, while receiving numerous death threats from Turkish nationalists.
Hrant Dink was assassinated in Istanbul in January 2007, by Ogün Samast, a 17-year old Turkish nationalist. This was shortly after the premiere of the genocide documentary Screamers, in which he is interviewed about Turkish denial of the Armenian Genocide of 1915 and the case against him under article 301. While Samast has since been taken into custody, photographs of the assassin flanked by smiling Turkish police and gendarmerie, posing with the killer side by side in front of the Turkish flag, have since surfaced. The photos created a scandal in Turkey, prompting a spate of investigations and the removal from office of those involved.
At his funeral, two hundred thousand mourners marched in protest of the assassination, chanting "We are all Armenians" and "We are all Hrant Dink". Criticism of Article 301 became increasingly vocal after his death, leading to parliamentary proposals for repeal.
[...]
Dink's unique perspective has been described as a "four way mirror", simultaneously empathetic to people of the Armenian diaspora, citizens of the Republic of Armenia, Turkish Armenians, and citizens of Turkey. Under Hrant Dink's editorship, Agos concentrated on five major topics: Speaking against any unfair treatment of the Armenian community in Turkey, covering human rights violations and problems of democratization in Turkey, carrying news of developments in the Republic of Armenia, with special emphasis on the Turkey-Armenia relations, publishing articles and serials on the Armenian cultural heritage and its contributions to the Ottoman Empire and Turkey, criticizing malfunctions and non-transparency in the Armenian community institutions.
As a leftist activist, Hrant Dink often spoke and wrote about the problems of democratization in Turkey, defending other authors such as Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk and novelist Perihan Magden who came under criticism and prosecution for their opinions. In a speech Hrant Dink delivered on May 19, 2006, at a seminar jointly organized in Antalya by the Turkish Journalists´ Association and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, he said:
"I think the fundamental problems in Turkey exist for the majority as well . Therefore, ..., I will speak for the majority, including myself in it and dwell on where, we, as Turkey, are headed."
Acting as a voluntary spokesperson for the Armenian community in Turkey, Hrant Dink, through Agos, addressed the particular prejudices, injustices and problems the community faced in its interaction with the Turkish society and state. Agos, through Hrant Dink's pen, criticized discrimination against Armenians found in Turkish mainstream media, publicized the problems faced by Armenian foundations, and spoke against cases of destruction of the Armenian cultural heritage.
Armenian issues
Dink hoped his questioning would pave the way for peace between the two peoples:
"If I write about the [Armenian] genocide it angers the Turkish generals. I want to write and ask how we can change this historical conflict into peace. They don’t know how to solve the Armenian problem."
He defended his constant challenge of established notions:
"I challenge the accepted version of history because I do not write about things in black and white. People here are used to black and white; that’s why they are astonished that there are other shades, too."
Dink was one of Turkey's most prominent Armenian voices and, despite threats on his life, he refused to remain silent. He always said his aim was to improve the difficult relationship between Turks and Armenians.[36] Active in various democratic platforms and civil society organizations, Hrant Dink emphasized the need for democratization in Turkey and focused on the issues of free speech, minority rights, civic rights and issues pertaining to the Armenian community in Turkey. He was a very important peace activist. In his public speeches, which were often intensely emotional, he never refrained from using the word genocide when talking about the Armenian Genocide, a term fiercely rejected by Turkey.
At the same time, he made clear that this term had a political meaning, rather than a historical one, and he was strongly critical of the strategy of the Armenian diaspora of pressuring Western governments into official recognition of the Genocide label.
Dink featured prominently in the 2006 genocide documentary film Screamers in which he explains:
"There are Turks who don't admit that their ancestors committed genocide. If you look at it though, they seem to be nice people… So why don't they admit it? Because they think that genocide is a bad thing which they would never want to commit, and because they can't believe their ancestors would do such a thing either."
Hrant Dink believed that diaspora Armenians should be able to live free of the weight of historical memory (the "residues of the past"), considering first and foremost the needs of the living majority (he said "eyes of the other side").
Indicating that a show of empathy would have nothing to do with
accepting or refusing the genocide, Dink called for dialogue:
"Turkish-Armenian relations should be taken out of a 1915 meters-deep well."
By pointing out issues of rhetorical discourse that hampered Armenian-Turkish dialogue,
he believed these obstacles could be overcome to the benefit of Turkish Armenians.
He was opposed to the French law that makes denial of Armenian
Genocide a crime. He was planning to go to France to commit
this 'crime', when the law came into effect. .. much more ..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hrant_Dink
See also:
Armenian Genocide denial .. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_Genocide_denial
Armenian Genocide .. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_Genocide
Sarkozy expected to ratify bill, already passed by lower house despite diplomatic row it has sparked with Turkey
Kim Willsher in Paris
guardian.co.uk, Monday 23 January 2012 23.51 GMT
Armenian genocide denial will become a crime in France
despite protests against the law by Turkish unions.
Photograph: Adem Altan/AFP/Getty Images
French senators have approved legislation making it a crime to deny that the mass
killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks nearly a century ago constitutes genocide.
The law, which has already been passed by members of the Assemblée Nationale, the lower house, has sparked a major diplomatic row between France and Turkey, .. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/turkey .. which has threatened "permanent consequences".
Immediately after the Sénat vote on Monday night, Turkish justice minister Sadullah Ergin described it as a "total lack of respect" and a "great injustice" towards his country. Ankara had already threatened retaliation if the bill was passed.
After French MPs approved the bill in December, Turkey recalled its ambassador, cancelled all economic and political meetings, and halted military cooperation with France.
Ahmet Davutoglu, Turkey's foreign minister, had earlier warned of further measures: "If every EU (European Union) parliament implements decisions reflecting its own view of history a new inquisition period will begin in Europe."
Supporters of the bill claim 1.5 million Armenians were slaughtered in Turkey under the Ottoman authorities during the first world war in a deliberate policy that constitutes genocide. Many historians agree, but Turkey disputes the term "genocide" and claims many Turks died during fighting in eastern Turkey in 1915 and 1916.
The vote came after an entire afternoon and evening of debate in the Sénat. Defending the bill, government minister Patrick Ollier told senators that legislation was justified in the "fight against the negationist poison". He added: "This proposed legislation is part of a general movement to repress racist and xenophobic statements."
However, last week a Sénat committee warned the law would be unconstitutional because it violates the right to freedom of speech.
President Nicolas Sarkozy is expected to ratify the bill before the presidential elections in April. Turkey has accused Sarkozy of pandering to the estimated 500,000 ethnic Armenians in France to win votes in the presidential vote in April and May, in which he is expected to see re-election.
French officials urged Turkey not to overreact. Bernard Valero, a spokesman for the French foreign ministry said Paris considered Ankara a "very important ally".
Those denying or "minimising" the genocide could face a €45,000 fine and a year in jail. France recognised the killing of the Armenians as 'genocide" in 2001, but at the time introduced no legal penalty for denying it.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jan/23/armenian-genocide-denial-ban-france?newsfeed=true
===================
i hope the law is declared unconstitutional .. hate to say this gentleman is new to me
.. if you are interested in more on the struggles of Turkey toward democracy, and
reconciliation with it's history, Hrant Dink's story is worth the read .. two bits here ..
Hrant Dink
Hrant Dink (Armenian: [...] (September 15, 1954 – January 19, 2007) was
a Turkish citizen of Armenian descent[1] editor, journalist and columnist.
As editor-in-chief of the bilingual Turkish-Armenian newspaper Agos (????), Dink was a prominent member of the Armenian minority in Turkey. Dink was best known for advocating Turkish-Armenian reconciliation and human and minority rights in Turkey; he was often critical of both Turkey's denial of the Armenian Genocide, and of the Armenian diaspora's campaign for its international recognition. Dink was prosecuted three times for denigrating Turkishness, while receiving numerous death threats from Turkish nationalists.
Hrant Dink was assassinated in Istanbul in January 2007, by Ogün Samast, a 17-year old Turkish nationalist. This was shortly after the premiere of the genocide documentary Screamers, in which he is interviewed about Turkish denial of the Armenian Genocide of 1915 and the case against him under article 301. While Samast has since been taken into custody, photographs of the assassin flanked by smiling Turkish police and gendarmerie, posing with the killer side by side in front of the Turkish flag, have since surfaced. The photos created a scandal in Turkey, prompting a spate of investigations and the removal from office of those involved.
At his funeral, two hundred thousand mourners marched in protest of the assassination, chanting "We are all Armenians" and "We are all Hrant Dink". Criticism of Article 301 became increasingly vocal after his death, leading to parliamentary proposals for repeal.
[...]
Dink's unique perspective has been described as a "four way mirror", simultaneously empathetic to people of the Armenian diaspora, citizens of the Republic of Armenia, Turkish Armenians, and citizens of Turkey. Under Hrant Dink's editorship, Agos concentrated on five major topics: Speaking against any unfair treatment of the Armenian community in Turkey, covering human rights violations and problems of democratization in Turkey, carrying news of developments in the Republic of Armenia, with special emphasis on the Turkey-Armenia relations, publishing articles and serials on the Armenian cultural heritage and its contributions to the Ottoman Empire and Turkey, criticizing malfunctions and non-transparency in the Armenian community institutions.
As a leftist activist, Hrant Dink often spoke and wrote about the problems of democratization in Turkey, defending other authors such as Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk and novelist Perihan Magden who came under criticism and prosecution for their opinions. In a speech Hrant Dink delivered on May 19, 2006, at a seminar jointly organized in Antalya by the Turkish Journalists´ Association and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, he said:
"I think the fundamental problems in Turkey exist for the majority as well . Therefore, ..., I will speak for the majority, including myself in it and dwell on where, we, as Turkey, are headed."
Acting as a voluntary spokesperson for the Armenian community in Turkey, Hrant Dink, through Agos, addressed the particular prejudices, injustices and problems the community faced in its interaction with the Turkish society and state. Agos, through Hrant Dink's pen, criticized discrimination against Armenians found in Turkish mainstream media, publicized the problems faced by Armenian foundations, and spoke against cases of destruction of the Armenian cultural heritage.
Armenian issues
Dink hoped his questioning would pave the way for peace between the two peoples:
"If I write about the [Armenian] genocide it angers the Turkish generals. I want to write and ask how we can change this historical conflict into peace. They don’t know how to solve the Armenian problem."
He defended his constant challenge of established notions:
"I challenge the accepted version of history because I do not write about things in black and white. People here are used to black and white; that’s why they are astonished that there are other shades, too."
Dink was one of Turkey's most prominent Armenian voices and, despite threats on his life, he refused to remain silent. He always said his aim was to improve the difficult relationship between Turks and Armenians.[36] Active in various democratic platforms and civil society organizations, Hrant Dink emphasized the need for democratization in Turkey and focused on the issues of free speech, minority rights, civic rights and issues pertaining to the Armenian community in Turkey. He was a very important peace activist. In his public speeches, which were often intensely emotional, he never refrained from using the word genocide when talking about the Armenian Genocide, a term fiercely rejected by Turkey.
At the same time, he made clear that this term had a political meaning, rather than a historical one, and he was strongly critical of the strategy of the Armenian diaspora of pressuring Western governments into official recognition of the Genocide label.
Dink featured prominently in the 2006 genocide documentary film Screamers in which he explains:
"There are Turks who don't admit that their ancestors committed genocide. If you look at it though, they seem to be nice people… So why don't they admit it? Because they think that genocide is a bad thing which they would never want to commit, and because they can't believe their ancestors would do such a thing either."
Hrant Dink believed that diaspora Armenians should be able to live free of the weight of historical memory (the "residues of the past"), considering first and foremost the needs of the living majority (he said "eyes of the other side").
Indicating that a show of empathy would have nothing to do with
accepting or refusing the genocide, Dink called for dialogue:
"Turkish-Armenian relations should be taken out of a 1915 meters-deep well."
By pointing out issues of rhetorical discourse that hampered Armenian-Turkish dialogue,
he believed these obstacles could be overcome to the benefit of Turkish Armenians.
He was opposed to the French law that makes denial of Armenian
Genocide a crime. He was planning to go to France to commit
this 'crime', when the law came into effect. .. much more ..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hrant_Dink
See also:
Armenian Genocide denial .. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_Genocide_denial
Armenian Genocide .. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_Genocide
It was Plato who said, “He, O men, is the wisest, who like Socrates, knows that his wisdom is in truth worth nothing”
Join the InvestorsHub Community
Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
