Sarkozy Asks Government to Prepare New Law on Denial

Nicolas Sarkozy

PARIS, France (A.W.)—French President Nicolas Sarkozy has asked the government to prepare a new law criminalizing genocide denial. The call came less than an hour after the French Constitutional Council issued a statement announcing its ruling of the Jan. 23 bill—aimed at penalizing the denial of genocides—unconstitutional, arguing that it would curb freedom of speech.

The bill would have rendered punishable the denial of genocides France has officially recognized, including the Armenian Genocide. France already has a law in place penalizing Holocaust denial.

Turkey welcomed the ruling. Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that officials would meet to consider reestablishing contacts with France, which were frozen after the French Parliament passed the bill on Jan. 23, reported Reuters.

32 Comments

  1. Here we go again… Turkey having his cake and eating it too… of course they would.. why would not they?? they don’t stand on the sidelines and DO NOTHING like our govt when something pokes on their side.. of course they will get what they want because they don’t sit and tip toe around a subject/people/whatever it may be thinking oh but if we say this how would Armenians feel??? of course they will get what they want because they care less what the reaction of others would be as long as it will produce the desired outcome they want…..

    Turkey does not give a damn and they are the one who committed the Genocide.. THEY ARE THE VILLAINS…… Armenia should do the same… even more so because Armenia has the truth on her side.. why our govt soo silent in more occasions than not.. i don’t get..

    and next time when apologists condemn others who speak openly and directly, they should consider how Turkey does her business … without considering yours or my feelings… so lets not be that naive because if we don’t speak out even if it will hurt few Turkophiles, apologists and denialists, no one will advocate for us… .

    I just hope that France showing a streak of courage and BALLs when they first introduced this bill won’t mess it up by getting a spoon of the Turkey’s stew of threats…

    • {“and next time when apologists condemn others who speak openly and directly, they should consider how Turkey does her business … without considering yours or my feelings… so lets not be that naive because if we don’t speak out even if it will hurt few Turkophiles, apologists and denialists, no one will advocate for us…”}

      well said Gayane.

    • Gayane,

      Well, our government and news agencies are busy with covering news in Turkey.

      For example, if Turkey is going to choose its singer for Eurovision it is news for us. Then when finally Turkey chooses its singer it is also News for us. And it was covered a few times.
      Or if there is someone similar to Ataturk in Turkey that is also news for us. Or if someone killed his wife in front of his kids in Turkey that is also news for us. Or how the camera in Turkey fixed a car accident or robbery. As if it is not enough they even provide videos.

      I did not see proper coverage for the last events in News.am

      I even emailed http://www.news.am and complained that there is an excessive coverage of Turkish news that has no relevance to Armenians but they did not even bother to reply.

  2. I think this Sarkozy character is a phony liar just like Obama. He could have signed the law within a few days, but instead waited long enough until it was challenged. That was too easy to figure out.

    In addition, I agree our government is a joke. Turkey sticks its nose where it does not belong and gets what it wants. Our government does not stick its nose where it belongs, nor does it demand justice, and our collective future is thus placed at stake. Pitiful, really pitiful.

    • @ kevork

      I feel obliged to remind you about couple of things that you may not have considered before lashing out to French president and comparing him to shameless US president Barack Obama.

      1- It’s unlawful for any French president to pre-empt Constitutional Court’s action in course.
      2- Each country has its own judicial system such as France (very different from the US), and the president cannot just sign a law without cooling off period (for possible objections through Constitutional Court actions) before signing and finalizing a law.
      3- President Sarkozy (whatever the reasons) has shown more guts and courage toward Armenian cause than all 17 US presidents (beside ‘Woodrow Wilson’ and ‘Ronald Reegan’) since the Genocide till today.

  3. To tell the truth; I was expecting to hear the ‘unconstitutional’ verdict from French Constitutional Council toward the proposed Genocide Denial Bill, and I am not surprised to see a prompt response from French president asking his government to prepare another Bill criminalizing the Denial of Genocides recognized by French government.

    Personally, I think these are necessary steps to serve a law in a fair and democratic country. Subsequently I was expecting such ‘controversial’ laws to take its toll before surpassing all constitutional obstacles before becoming a law. This democratic process will eventually produce an acceptable outcome to eliminate any unconstitutional elements.

    However, in this case; the French government’s initiative has already attracted overwhelming attention and emphasis on Armenian Genocide Recognition issue in international arena more than the Bill itself.

    Whatever the final outcome, it’s important to note that in international arena it is ‘always’ Turkish government’s shameful denial policy to be incriminated and the prime cause of promotion of such Bills against them in different countries.

  4. Kevork,

    Our government (through its diplomatic representation) passivlely watches a disinformation campaign re: Khojaly being unfolded in Washington. Metrobuses with anti-Armenian posters were seen on the streets and in several downtown metro stations there are banners with similar content. It is hard to believe that the US administration is unaware of this.

    I called metro transit authorities and sent e-mails of protest. I’m told a group of young Armenians protested in front of the Azerbaijani embassy. But what does the embassy do to bring the matter to the US authorities?

  5. I have this to say. I wish Sarkisian had the same guts and drive like Sarkozy has. And Sarkozy is not even Armenian nor the head of Armenia but acts more vigorously about our cause than our own government in Armenia. I agree with some of the comments above and Gayane’s that why our government chooses to be silent at times like this and not be outspoken when we are in the right? They should take good lessons from President Sarkozy and how he operates with guts and with a spine, not spineless like our people in our motherland.

  6. Any Genocide against any people is a Genocide against humanity. A lesson to be learned by the so called the Democratic West.

    Of course France is now in a position of leadership and can teach the world ethics and what true democracy is all about. Especially President Sarkozy.

  7. I tend to think in line with what Hairenakitz has said. Even if the new bill is killed by the Constitutional Court again, France’s courageous initiative has stirred unrest in both Turkey and their petty extension Azeristan. The initiative serves more significant goal: to invite attention to the international recognition of the Armenian genocide in a way forcing the perpetrator to repent and admit the guilt.

  8. All those who wish to protest disgraceful ‘Khojaly’ posters mounted on metrobuses and in metro stations in Washington DC (posters imply that Armenians were the perpetrators of the ‘human tragedy against Azerbaijan’), please write to:

    Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
    600 5th Street, NW
    Washington, DC 20001

    Or call their Advertising and Marketing Department at 202-962-1188

    Or use their Customer Comment Form at http://www.wmata.com/about_metro/contact_us/ridercomment.cfm

    I wonder if from the legal point of view WMATA cannot be sued for being an accomplice in a disinformation campaign?

    • Ahmet,
      Its true what you say however no way will the Armenians ever stop..”Importance” doesn’t justify the mass liquidation of a race and then its denial and then help with its cover up.. In fact the Armenian cause for recognition and justice has only gotten bigger as time goes by. I mean, 15 years ago no way France even talks of the Armenian Genocide. Now they fight to outlaw its denial…And it will only get bigger..Things do change.. Time will come…

  9. Dear Seervart and others,
    ?Please be informed that FM of Armenia Mr. Edward nalbandian has IN VERY STRONG WORDS PROTESTED TO GREAT TURKEY RE RECENT DEMONSTRATIONS IN ISTANBULLA AND (50 OTHER TOWNS IN TURKEY,THIS LAST PART ACCORDING TO AW COUPLE DAYS AGO…
    SO DO NOT HASTILLY ACCUSE RA WITHOUT KNOWING.
    I SAW ON H1 ARMENIAN T.V. AND USARMENIA T.V. HIS DISCOURSE 2 TIMES.
    As to great Turkey and little brother Azerbaijan(fake country /entity) IT IS SIMPLY THIER STYLE(VOJ) to falsify , lie and cry foul….all the time…
    DO NOT BE DISMAYED…
    SARKOZY HAS JUST VERY CLEARLY DECLARED H EIS GOING TO FOLLOW UP AND ALSO MS. VALERIE BOYER…
    SO ALL IS NOT LOST ON THIS ISSUE.
    BUT WE OURSELVES HAVE A LOT TO DO TO RE ORGANIZE THE DIASPORA(S).sitting pretty and talk we can of course.BUT WE MUST ACT!!!as well. I suggest FORMATION INTO PCA¨S PROFESSIONAL cOLLEAGGUES aSSOC. ALL OVER dIASPORA TOWNSHIPS asap AND DERIVE FROM THESE 3 PERSON DELEGATGES TO THE INTERPROFESSIONAL ,ASKING THE POLITICAL PARTIES A TO JOIN UP PLUS ONE EA FROM OUR 3 SPIRITUTAL DENOMINATIONS.THUS FORMING CENTRAL BODIES IN TOWNSHIPS AND FROM THESE ONE PERSON EA TO CENTRAL C O U N C I L OF EA COMMUNITY COUNTRY.
    WE CANNOT GO AROUND WITH THIS POLITIAL PARTY HERE ,agbu THERE, hUNCHAG rAMGAVAR AND ETC., ETC., ALL centrifugal…
    we need CENTRALISM ,ELECTED PEOPLE THERE AT TOP,THIS CAN BE HAD FROM THE AFOREMENTIONED PCA´S 15 FIELDS OF pcas…
    BEST

  10. Ahmet,

    How a Turk defines “importance”? What are the criteria that a Turk uses when defining “importance”? I’ll tell you how an Armenian defines it. For me, “importance” of a nation is civilizational, cultural contributions to the human race. Not the military invasion and subjugation of native nations, not their colonization, not genocidal extermination of unarmed women and children, not the geographical size, not the population size, not the military prowess, not the NATO membership. For us, being important means what contributions—cultural, innovational, scientific, artistic, architectural, entrepreneurial, religious, etc.—a nation has made to enrich the human civilization throughout millennia. Not how many children an askyar dismembered or how many eyes of the elders a gendarme gouged. Got the difference?

  11. Dear Paul,

    Thank you for your very good answer to Ahmet. I could only add to your comment that for over 5,000 years Armenians contributed to mankind great many things; out of a hat I can remember just very few and undoubtedly there are so many more. To name a few, the great Musasir Temple that was recreated later on by the Byzantine’s Acropolis or the Parthenon of Greece, the first and the early geographical map drawings were by Armenians as well as Babylonians as old as over 2,600 years ago where you will find the drawing and the map of Armenia, (the only that it exists till today), the oldest people the Sumerians were of Armenian origins, the numerous Khatckars that were created in the 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th and up until the 15th centuries were built by Armenians. And unfortunately about 3,000 of those Khatchkars were demolished in the Djulfa region in Nakhichevan by Azerbaijani soldiers approx. about four years ago. The Armenian Oguzlu Church was built in the 10th century. The numerous inscriptions of ancient writings similar to the Rosetta Stone was created by Armenians, the numerous ancient cities such as Dikranagerd and Ani, the numerous ancient Churches and Monasteries throughout Armenia and in today’s Turkey. The ancient manuscriplts that some of them are in our Madenataran in Yerevan, and some of them are also in England. Then the Migoyan Mic ariplanes and the numerous Armenian scientists just in the recent past within the Soviet Russia who contributed to the benefit of mankind. These are but only very few of the cultural, scientific, artistic, architectual, entrpreneurial and the religious contributions that Armenians gave to the world and to mankind.

    Same as yourself dear Paul, I find these to be of great “importance” to the cultural advancement for the benefit of mankind that Armenians has contributed to the world.

    • @ john the turk

      I think the ‘hole’ that you’re refering is calle ‘DENIAL’ & ‘TABU’, a Turkish centenial hole!

      As you can see even that long article about “Ara Guler” Turkey’s master of photography DENIES his rights of the ethnicity. It’s pointless to teach you more about who is stuck where!
      However, we’re building a way out of that dark history hole for Turks!

  12. I guess, yahya the turk, Turks must have been also proud of hundreds of thousands of Ottoman citizens with Armenian heritage–artisans, poets, musicians, doctors, architects, tradesmen, bankers, etc. Apparently, Turks were so proud of them, that one day, on 24 April 1915, and throughout 1923 all of them and their families were savagely exterminated and their possessions stolen? Silly us, we’re stuck in a hole not realizing how loving and compassionate savage Ottoman Turks can be when they take pride of Armenians…

  13. Seervart:

    “Ara Güler, Turkey’s master of photography” (Hurriyet)

    Another disgusting public display of ongoing, relentless Turkification.
    Not one word in the article that Ara Güler was born of Armenian parents. Not one.
    If the reader is not Armenian and does not know ‘Ara’ is an Armenian name, he’d never know.
    Voila, another contribution of “Turkish genius” to the World.
    Most people reading the English language article (in the West), will naturally conclude he is a Turk.

    Another example of Turks stealing what’s Armenian and presenting to the rest of the world as “Turkish”.
    Stealing the music of ‘Zartnir Lao’ and using it for a soccer team chant.
    Stealing the music of ‘Adana voghperke’ and changing the lyrics to a slutty pop song. (sick).
    Stealing our ancient national dish Harissa, and trying to register it as Turkish national dish.
    It never ends.

    And when we see genius artists like Ara Güler and Sibil, we have to take a moment and reflect on this:
    How many irreplaceable Aras and Sibils did the Ottoman and CUP Turk yatagan-wielding goons slaughter ?
    How many future Aras and Sibils did the Ottoman and CUP Turk murderers exterminate ?

    [Sibil (http://armenianweekly.com/2012/02/15/sibil-to-perform-in-ny-on-march-31/)]

  14. yahya the turk, seriously, when turks vehemently deny the right of citizens to identify their ethnicity, what is this indicative of? I think it’s indicative of one thing (among others): the deep complex of inferiority of your nation. If turks were a high-minded nation, hardly would they turkify everything and everyone that doesn’t belong to them. I suspect deep in your psyche turks know they don’t really belong to the region and its ancient civilizations.

  15. Like I said, it never stops. here is another one:

    Turkish currency’s new symbol resembles Armenian (photo)
    http://news.am/eng/news/95600.html

    Can you guys stop stealing from Armenians and come up with something original on your own for a change ?
    Aren’t Turks supposed to be some kind of “proud” people ?
    Why do you Turks keep stealing from people you despise ?
    People you consider inferior beings ?

    • The Turkish opposition party claims it looks like a T and an E. For Tayyip and Erdogan.

    • Avery,

      Just wait a few years and we will see how Turks will claim that Armenians stole their currency symbol.

  16. Dear Avery,

    How right you are!! I often thought the same that only if the Turkish CUP government didn’t annihilate practically our whole nation, how much more advanced Armenians would have been comparatively to the nations of the world? Very advanced in every which way; how many geniuses would have been born? I mourn at times just thinking about this, merely thinking about it brings me much sorrow knowing well how grand Armenia and Armenians would have been to contribute; scientifically, artistically, architecturally, culturally, in education, and the list goes on and on. While I was still reading your post, it came to mind as you have mentioned it about our “Zartir Lao” that the Turks stole it from us. I heard about this almost 1 1/2 years ago and I was numbfounded, but stealing our truly sad and hurtful music of the “Adana Voghperk” is REALLY SICK. Instead of them feeling remorseful, they are stealing and making it a pop song? I can more than shake my head to this, because it is disgraceful !!!

    I am not surprised of the genius of the Armenian Ara Guler nor of the Armenian beauty Sibil. The Turks stole everything else from us than annihilated us and are still in denial for 96 years. Instead of producing their own music, their own “harissas”, their own “madsuns” after murdering our nation, not being able to come up with their own music, their own culinary delights, they are still and continuously looking at us and stealing our culture from us. What else is new?

  17. john the turk,

    Just like my friend Hairenakitz stated before me addressing it to you,
    “I think the ‘hole’ that you are referring to is called ‘DENIAL & TABU’ a Turkish centennial ‘hole’!” And I will add stealing from our culture; our music, our dishes, our gorgeous women, our little boys to make an army out of them, and the list goes on….

    • For those of you that don’t know Turkish:
      An Turkey Armenian writes a letter to the columnist: Summary: There was a forced migration, during which death and destruction and atrocities. However, none of this was done in an organized fashion by the Ottoman military. Also says that the Diaspora Armenians only know the story of death, whereas Turkey Armenians know the death and the return to their lands, and the added experiences- which makes them more objective than the diaspora. Also adds that Armenians in Western Ottoman Empire were not subjected to said atrocities which doesn’t make sense if it was a genocide, and therefore an Armenian concludes that was not, in fact, an Armenian genocide. Oh, and the 1.5 million is the number of missing, not dead.

      However, if you have been missing for a 100 years I would assume that you are dead at this point. I’ve heard this story before in many similar forms.

  18. We are by and by gaining ground folks….THESE MISERABLE IMMORAL PEOPLE that would not even utter word ermeni….
    Are now day in day out talking writing about us….
    THE DAY IS NOT FAR WHEN THEY WILL COME AND KNEEL DOWN AT TSITZERNAKABERT-I WROTE ABOUT THIS BEFORE-LIKE THE GRANDSON OF JEMAL PASHA DID…NOT LONG AGO…
    EXCEPT THEY STILL HAVE ANOTHER TRICK UP THEIR SLEEVES…
    THAT OF THEN SAYING THAT WE LOVE YOU YOU FORGIVE US AND WE SHALL ALL REPENT AND ASK FOR FORGIVENESS..
    O N L Y NO TALK OF COMPENSATION….
    L a n d s ???? why they are there(occupied mainly by kurds and they know that full well) GO FIGURE THAT OUT ,RATHER SOLVE IT BETWEEN YOURSELVES…
    We are now a nation that has officially accepted that our ¨¨ancestors¨¨committed that horrible CRIME…we are different and IN eUROPE AND eUROPEANS, see our manner of dressing talking and with latin letters….all those turkish(actually stolen from Armenians) achievements in arts, sciences, culture food etc.,
    Yes !! I am dead sure we shall soon see that day…BUT REMEMBER THEY WILL DO ALL THAT VERY SYSTEMATICALLY,.LIKE IT HAS HAPPENED SO FAR AFTER H R A N T D I N K MURDER and s l o w l y ….

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