PACE head says France may pass Armenian resolution, but it cannot be implemented

ANKARA (A.A) - The president of Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe (PACE) said on Friday that France Senate might pass the resolution criminalizing denial of Armenian allegations regarding the incidents of 1915, but the law could not be implemented. Mevlut Cavusoglu said the resolution might be passed, however in his opinion, it was not the end of the world. "This law cannot be implemented in the first place," Cavusoglu told AA correspondent in Ankara. Cavusoglu said the Senate would most probably adopt the resolution, but noted that PACE-member French lawmakers were against the resolution. "French lawmakers do not take this resolution as serious," he said. Cavusoglu said French President Nicolas Sarkozy backed the resolution after Turkey became more popular in North African countries, which were once under influence of France. The lower house of the French parliament adopted on December 22 a resolution that criminalizes rejection of Armenian allegations pertaining to the incidents of 1915. Only 70 out of 577 parliamentarians joined the voting of the resolution which was adopted with majority of votes. The resolution envisages "one-year prison term and 45,000 Euro fine for those who deny genocide recognized by French laws." French Parliament had recognized so-called Armenian genocide in 1915 on January 29, 2001. The draft criminalizing the rejection of Armenian allegations had first been approved in 2006, but it could not become a law as French President Nicolas Sarkozy prevented its presentation to Senate. Now, the senate's approval is necessary to make the resolution a law. The Chairmanship Council of the Senate will take up the resolution on January 10, and the resolution will later be submitted to Constitutional Commission. The resolution is expected to be brought up in the Senate between January 23 and 31.  Turkey strongly opposes the issue of the incidents of 1915 being used as a tool in French politics. Many believe that French President Sarkozy supports the Armenian resolution in order to garner support from France's Armenian population that number around 500,000. France will hold the first round of next year's presidential election on April 22 and the second round run-off on May 6. Sarkozy is running for a second term. If the resolution is not adopted at the senate till February 22, 2012 when the parliament and senate will recess for presidential elections, it will be invalid. (Reporting by Hasan Oymez)