Genocide denial criminalisation isn't best way to condemn Genocide, Henri Reynaud says

May 30, 2011 - 19:38 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - French Senate's rejection of the bill criminalizing the Armenian Genocide denial might suggest that the French legislation has already envisaged enough measures to suppress any attempt at Genocide negation, according to French Ambassador to Armenia.

As Henri Reynaud noted at news conference in Yerevan, “French Senate might have considered that the law on Genocide negation isn't the best means for condemning the Armenian Genocide.” As the Ambassador remarked, he, as a representative of an executive authority, has no right to comment on the decisions of a legislative body.

As the Ambassador reminded, France became one of the first states to have recognized the Armenian Genocide at a legislative level, with French Justice Minister having given specific instructions to persecute any negation of Genocide. The ambassador, however, refused to reply the journalists' question as to why the French Parliament adopted and criminalized a law on Holocaust denial.

The French Senate on May 4 did not consider the resolution that if passed would criminalize the denial of the Armenian Genocide in France. With a vote 196 to 74, the senate blocked a formal debate on the issue.

30.05.11 - Press conference of French Ambassador to Armenia Henry Renault at NATO's Armenian office

The Armenian Genocide

The Armenian Genocide (1915-23) was the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I. It was characterized by massacres and deportations, involving forced marches under conditions designed to lead to the death of the deportees, with the total number of deaths reaching 1.5 million.

The majority of Armenian Diaspora communities were formed by the Genocide survivors.

Present-day Turkey denies the fact of the Armenian Genocide, justifying the atrocities as “deportation to secure Armenians”. Only a few Turkish intellectuals, including Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk and scholar Taner Akcam, speak openly about the necessity to recognize this crime against humanity.

The Armenian Genocide was recognized by Uruguay, Russia, France, Lithuania, Italy, 45 U.S. states, Greece, Cyprus, Lebanon, Argentina, Belgium, Austria, Wales, Switzerland, Canada, Poland, Venezuela, Chile, Bolivia, the Vatican, Luxembourg, Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands, Paraguay, Sweden, Venezuela, Slovakia, Syria, Vatican, as well as the European Parliament and the World Council of Churches.