French Senate will not discuss new “Armenian genocide” law before presidential elections

Azerbaijan, Baku, March 1 / Trend A.Taghiyeva / A new bill criminalizing denial of the so-called "Armenian genocide", which the French president instructed to develop, will not be discussed by the Senate before the presidential elections in France scheduled for June, the Zaman newspaper reported. The French Government took this decision after the law criminalizing denial of the so-called "Armenian genocide" passed by the Parliament was repealed by the Constitutional Council. The Constitutional Court of France repealed a law criminalizing denial of the so-called "Armenian genocide" on Tuesday. The Council justified it by the fact that the law contradicts Article 33 of the Constitution of France and freedom of speech. Following this decision, the French President Nicolas Sarkozy ordered the government to prepare a new bill criminalizing denial of the so-called "Armenian genocide". On Jan 23, after an eight-hour debate, the Senate adopted the bill criminalizing denial of the so-called "Armenian genocide". Some 127 senators voted in favor, while 86 voted against. The bill demands a year's imprisonment and a fine of 45,000 euro for denying the so-called genocide. Armenia and the Armenian lobby claim that the predecessor of the Turkey - Ottoman Empire had committed the 1915 genocide against the Armenians living in Anadolu, and achieved recognition of the "Armenian Genocide" by the parliaments of several countries. Do you have any feedback? Contact our journalist at agency@trend.az