French court cancels ‘genocide’ denial bill

France’s Constitutional Council has struck down a government-backed law criminalizing denials of the 1915 events as genocide on the grounds that it contradicts the French constitution in a move that looks set to ward off a deepening crisis in Turkish-French ties.

Ankara expressed its satisfaction with the law and said this would remove hurdles standing in the way of the improvement of relations between the two countries.

The council’s decision was posted on the official website late yesterday after a month-long examination of the much discussed law.

“The council considered the law unconstitutional,” read the press statement made by the council, which based its verdict on the relevant articles of the “1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen,” the fundamental document of the French Revolution. It said the law was not in line with the declaration’s 6th and 11the articles, which highlight freedom of expression and thought, one of the main pillars of the democracy.

“Therefore the Constitutional Council has declared the unconstitutionality of Article 1 of the law and consequently Article 2, which is not separable,” it said.

There were comments that the court’s decision would also put the validity of a 2001 law recognizing Armenian genocide claims into a legal discussion. However, the council’s decision said this did not affect the 2001 law as it was not asked to make an assessment on that legislation.

“We hope those who want to make politics over history will have a lesson from this verdict,” Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu told reporters in a statement after the release of the verdict. “This is a very positive decision. I thank the members of the council for the respectful decision. It will set a precedent as well,” he added.”This will be exemplary,” Davutoğlu told journalists yesterday evening. “It is an important step regarding [the prevention] of small calculations gaining legal ground. We hope that those who seek political aims over the histories of societies get a legal lesson.”

The decision allows the creation of an environment in which all historical issues can be freely discussed in accordance with freedom of expression, Davutoğlu added. “Thus, it is a positive contribution regarding Turkish-Armenian ties.”

The law, introduced by French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s party was first approved by Parliament on Dec. 22 and then by the French Senate on Jan. 23. The measure set a punishment of up to one year in prison and a fine of 45,000 euros for those who deny or outrageously minimize the killings.

With the high court decision, the law is null and void and the entire legislative process will have to begin from the very beginning.

The adoption of the law in Parliament and the Senate drew Ankara’s strong reactions with a package of sanctions against France. Its eight-article sanctions were focused on banning French military using Turkish airspace and territorial waters, cutting some political ties with indirect threats to boycott French goods.

Apart from diplomatic initiatives, Turkey also mobilized large French companies which had significant investments in Turkey to urge French lawmakers to take the law to the council. A sum of 142 lawmakers and senators appealed to the court in late January after the Senate approved it. In a move to give time for collecting signatures for taking the law to court, Sarkozy did not rush to sign the law which would have put the law into effect.

February/28/2012

Source: http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/fr...-bill.aspx?pageID=238&nID=14901&NewsCatID=338

 

Freedom of speech: 1
Armenian diaspora: 0

 

Now if only Turkey would legalize the acknowledgment of the Armenian genocide in their own country.

 

Turkey is hardly a genuine supporter of freedom of speech!

 

Denial of history: 1
Turkish self-examination: 0

It's hard to take seriously a nation who lies to itself so egregiously about a shocking horror it perpetrated on over a million people belonging to an ethnic minority less than a century ago. Why is it Avenger can get all upset about Turkish Cypriots and not remember that quite a few of the Greek Cypriots are the descendants of ethnic Greeks driven out of Turkey by Kemal Ataturk's Turks.

Oh, yeah - we were talking about the much bigger atrocity perpetrated on the Armenians by the Turks just before Ataturk took power. I'll give Ataturk that much: a lot smaller percentage of Greeks died in their diaspora than the percentage of Armenians who died in theirs.

 

I believe it is against the law in France to deny the Holocaust but now it seems it is not against the law to deny the Armenian genocide. Seems a little bit strange and double standards as well.

The Gayssot Act or Gayssot Law (French: Loi Gayssot), enacted on July 13, 1990, makes it an offense in France to question the existence or size of the category of crimes against humanity as defined in the London Charter of 1945, on the basis of which Nazi leaders were convicted by the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg in 1945-46 (art.9). Proposed by the Communist deputy Jean-Claude Gayssot, it is one of several European laws prohibiting Holocaust denial.

 

bed news for you...
http://www.politicalforum.com/lates...-sarkozy-orders-new-draft.html#post1060932791

 

+1. ...................

 

We will not learn our own history from bunch of liar French politicans, if Sarkozy is really keen jailing and robbing people based on their views on history, he can look at his own history in Algeria.

If you also want to play know-it-all about Cyprus, I dare you to open a new thread in any section about it. We won't also learn our history from ignorant bigots who don't even know Atatürk was not even alive 1974. Do you even have a clue about the situtation in Cyprus prior to Cyprus Peace Operation? Why are you guys so hypocrite and one-sided blind bats?

 

No matter how much you cleanse Sarkozy's balls, the fact is that French Constitutional Council is above him and it will not let your liarmenian buddies to abuse freedom of speech.

 

This is true. Holocaust denial should be legal, just like the acknowledgement of the Armenian genocide should be as well.

 

I am against making freedom of speech illegal because of political pressure.

 

Yep, Holocaust denial is very stupid- but should never be illegal. Strike that down as well.

 

LOL. what are you studying? ask somebody about "Separation of powers" . then dont you see that it makes situation for your country only worse? all this political spectacle over and over again , Greece on the line as well , do you know it? you cant not stop it just accept it

 

ANY genocide and ANY hollocaust denail should be outlawed, its not a matter of "freedom of speech" its a matter of protecting society against lies and the risk that proven genocides will be forgotten one day - and that we should never allow as human beings, its the least we can do for the casualties.

Turkey managed to scare the french out of preventing spreading such lies, that doesnt mean it should have happened, how people here dare to preach about "freedom of speech" yet support the concealment of that crime is truely shamefull,

BTW, Assad will probebly win since the world doesnt move a finger for the Syrians, as the dead number climb while he compleatly murders all resistance- it could be labeled genocide, what do you think will happen next?, the Arab league will accept him back, Assad will pick some poor guy and say he is the rebal leader, shake his hand, hug him and say they reached an agreement, and that's it, the genocide was a mere skirmish by terrorists (zionists probebly) with no more than a 100 dead, see how that goes?

 

The law is ridiculous, as is the law against denying the holocaust. This is a good day for freedom of speech. It is sad that as a whole, freedom of speech and expression is nowadays being systematically infringed upon in western world, when we should move in the opposite direction.

We have no moral right to criticise countries like China and Iran when we commit similar infringements. A very dangerous precedent for freedom.

 

Yea, keep supporting terrorists, deny the Natzi atrocities, support Assad murders - you are really on the right track here, for a better tommorrow

 

Maybe they are waiting for the Americans to formally recognise the native Indian genocide

 

Indeed he is. It indeed is a better tomorrow when you are free to tell lies and not be prosecuted for it. Challenge the lies, not the liar. Genocide denial laws serve only to give additional credibility to denialists.

 

I disagree and I am sure that plenty of genocides have been forgotten in the history of the world. All these laws against denying Holocaust/Genocide are just political point scoring. If someone wants to deny that something happened then it is up to them to provide evidence and for others to believe it or not. I am sure people have the intelligence to work it out for themselves. The Holocaust has been used by the Israeli government and various Jewish organisations for decades and to this day to paint the picture that the Jews are still the victims when that is not true at all. They have used it for propaganda purposes and I feel they have desecrated the memory of all those that murdered by the Nazis,the fact is that there were probably another 6 million people who were not Jews who were murdered as well and they have been forgotten.

 

And who is a genuine supporter of freedom of speech?

 

define holocaust

Is it massive loss of life after burning?

What is burning? by an oven or by chemicals and firepower or both?

What constitutes 'massive loss of life' ?

Was Hiroshima and Nagasaki a holocaust?

 

It's time for Turkey to come clean and wash the blood off their hands.

_

 

Sorry man, but in the Western World it should never, ever be the place of Government to stifle debate or protect sensibilities in such a manner.

That is a slippery slope no one wants to go down.

It is not the place of Government to ensure proper social memory of a terrible tragedy. I highly doubt that anyone well ever forget what happened in Europe regarding your people.

No Government should ever squash debate, no matter how heinous that debate may be to the victims.

Freedom of Speech and academic debate is superior to your harmed sensibilities.

 

Any state that doesn't ban the expression of political speech.