Armenian expert: Belgium, Netherlands may follow France’s suitJanuary 27, 2012 - 13:00 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Even French Senate’s adoption of the bill criminalizing Genocide denial will not affect Turkey’s position on Armenian Genocide recognition, according to an Armenian expert “Official Turkey won’t recognize the Armenian Genocide until its public is ready for it. Meanwhile, Belgium and the Netherlands are likely to follow France’s suit due to having a similar stance on the issue,” Artak Shakaryan said. “Turkey itself doesn’t strive to join the EU in face of the eurozone crisis. Besides, there are a number of more serious issues, Cyprus dispute, for instance, that hamper Turkey’s accession process,” the expert stated, dwelling on deterioration of Turkish-EU ties. Commenting on U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s statement on the draft law penalizing the Armenia Genocide denial, Shakaryan stressed the need for U.S. to recognize the Armenian Genocide first, and then only discuss adoption of similar bills. On January 23 the French Senate passed the bill with 127 votes for and 86 against. On December 22, 2011, it was adopted by the French National Assembly. The bill will impose a 45,000 euro fine and a year in prison for anyone in France who denies this crime against humanity committed by the Ottoman Empire. The bill is believed to take effect in France within two weeks, after it will be signed by President. Top stories President of the Armenian parliament Alen Simonyan met with the Speaker of the Azerbaijani Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova. Achieving stable peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan remains a priority of the OSCE, said Ian Borg. The Cabinet of Ministers decided on Thursday, November 9 to allocated AMD 120 million to arrange the gathering. Michael Roth believes sanctions must be put on the table after Baku‘s ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh. Partner news | Lemkin Institute petition seeks release of Armenians in Azerbaijan The Lemkin Institute is deeply concerned about the continued illegal detention of political prisoners from Karabakh in Azerbaijan. Armenian Catholicos calls for national unity against threats Karekin II issued a message on Republic Day marking the anniversary of the First Armenian Republic. Opposition leader, supporters spend night at Sardarapat memorial Police made nearly 300 arrests the day before as Galstanyan and his supporters continued to demonstrate in Yerevan. Armenia designates flood-hit communities as disaster areas The emergency situation was created by floods caused by heavy rains in Armenia’s north on May 25-26. |