French Senate adopts bill criminalizing denial of Armenian allegations pertaining to incidents of 1915

PARIS (A.A) - January 23, 2012 - The French Senate on Monday adopted a bill that criminalizes the denial of Armenian allegations pertaining to the incidents of 1915. The bill was adopted by a vote of 127 against 86. With the adoption of the Armenian bill at the French Senate, the denial of Armenian allegations regarding the incidents of 1915 would be penalized with a prison term of one year and a monetary fine of 45,000 euros in France. The bill may be carried to the French Constitutional Court if at least 60 French parliamentarians or senators wish so. In an historic speech delivered at the French Senate, the chairperson of the French Senate Committee on Laws, Jean Pierre Sueur, said that the Armenian bill would not help any one. "Would this bill help friendship among peoples? Would this bill help the solution of diplomatic problems? Would all the problems be solved with this bill?" Sueur asked his colleagues at the French Senate. The French Senate's Committee on Laws announced its opposition to the Armenian bill recently stressing that the bill was against the French Constitution, and the freedom of expression and research.