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Turkey slams French Senate's pass of "Armenian genocide" bill: TV

Türkiye Materials 24 January 2012 05:55 (UTC +04:00)
Turkey on Monday dismissed as unjust and disrespectful the French Senate's adoption of a bill criminalizing those who refuse to recognize the killing of Armenians in 1915 as "genocide" in France, the Turkish justice minister told the CNN-Turk television.
Turkey slams French Senate's pass of "Armenian genocide" bill: TV

Turkey on Monday dismissed as unjust and disrespectful the French Senate's adoption of a bill criminalizing those who refuse to recognize the killing of Armenians in 1915 as "genocide" in France, the Turkish justice minister told the CNN Turk television.

Earlier on Monday, the French Senate voted 127 to 86 in favor of the draft law after hours of debate, making it illegal to deny as "genocide" the killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks in 1915.

The Lower House of the French Parliament adopted a bill criminalising the denial of the so-called "Armenian genocide". Some 45 out of 577 French MPs voted with 38 voting for and seven against the adoption of the bill.

The bill demands about a year's imprisonment and a fine of 45,000 euros for denial of the so-called "Armenian genocide". In response to this decision Turkey announced that it has frozen all diplomatic relations with France.

MPs from the French President's Union for Popular Movement (UMP) party which has the parliamentary majority, proposed the bill which aims at criminalising denial of the so-called "Armenian genocide" to the legislative committee of the National Assembly in early December.

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.

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