ID :
230298
Tue, 02/28/2012 - 21:45
Auther :

Turkish FM praises French court's ruling on law on Armenian allegations

ANKARA (A.A) - Turkish foreign minister praised a ruling Tuesday by France's top constitutional authority to annul a French law that makes it a crime to deny Armenian allegations on the incidents of 1915 in the Ottoman Empire. "The French Constitutional Council has passed a ruling that fitted with the French Constitution's notion of universal human rights and European values which we all defend," Ahmet Davutoglu told reporters following the French council's ruling.     The French Constitutional Council ruled that the law was a violation the freedom of expression and communication. The law, which penalizes denial of the Armenian allegations with one-year prison term and fine of 45 thousand euros, had brought relations between Turkey and France to a standstill and it had drawn fierce criticisms from French historians and intellectuals as well. Davutoglu expressed gratitude for French lawmakers who had appealed to the constitutional council for the annulment of the denial law and for their "principled stance on human rights."   "This ruling avoided a gap between Turkish and French people, intellectuals, and the Constitutional Council has made a great contribution to secure that our traditional friendship continues in its right direction," Davutoglu said.    Davutoglu said Tuesday's ruling also established a precedent that would prevent similar "abuses." "We hope that this ruling will be lesson to those who aim at forging political leverage over histories of societies," Davutoglu said.     The Turkish foreign minister said the ruling also contributed to an open platform where historical issues could be discussed more freely, adding that it would also help relations between Turkey and Armenia.     Responding to a question over French President Nicolas Sarkozy's remarks which hinted that a similar bill could be submitted to the parliament, Davutoglu said such a move would be "a grave mistake."      "I hope they would not do such a grave mistake. That would hurt France itself and French political culture," ha said.  Davutoglu said it was early to take a decision to lift measures Turkey had taken against France in the aftermath of the law's approval.

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