Int’l reaction piles up, French bill draws criticism for limiting freedoms

Amnesty International, an international human rights organization with millions of supporters worldwide, championed a stream of reactions on Tuesday, saying the French bill threatened freedom of expression. “This bill, if implemented, would have a chilling effect on public debate and contravene France's international obligations to uphold freedom of expression,” said Nicola Duckworth, Europe and Central Asia Director at Amnesty International, according to a posting on the organization's website. “People should be free to express their opinions on this issue -- in France, Turkey and elsewhere,” Duckworth also said, stressing the organization's devotion to freedoms and rights.

While the organization noted international human rights law would allow for restrictions on the exercise of freedom of expression in certain cases, in order to protect rights and reputations, national security or public order, it also noted none of these concerns applied in the case of the French bill, and it would simply mean blocking the expression of the view many Turks have regarding the 1915 incidents.

“The real issue at stake with this bill is not whether the large-scale killings and forced displacement of Armenians in 1915 constituted a genocide, but the French authorities’ attempt to curtail freedom of expression in response to that debate,” added Duckworth.

The French Senate approval of the bill, which seeks to land a fine of up to 45,000 euros and a prison sentence of up to one year upon offenders, met with a similar reception from European liberals and democrats, who deemed the move incomprehensible.

Alexander Graf Lambsdorff from Germany’s Free Democratic Party (FDP) said in a statement the genocide-denial bill is an additional burden on already strained Turkish-European relations, adding that apart from a few, narrowly defined and politically justified exceptions, assertions of historical facts should be left to historians and should certainly not be made a crime.

Lambsdorff said the vote in the senate is all the more incomprehensible because the alleged Turkish genocide of Armenians in 1915 is an event in which France was not involved in any way. However, he called on Turkey to show restraint, saying: “There is a risk that Turkey might overreact, but for a country in the middle of accession negotiations with the EU, it is important to react with moderation and avoid adding to anti-Turkish sentiment. The lines must be kept open between Ankara and Paris as this would inevitably impact wider Turkish-European relations.”

Also on Tuesday, US State Department Spokesperson Victoria Nuland said the views of the US government were “very well-known,” and Washington D.C., shared with Paris its view on how it has “chosen to handle the issue.” Last April, when Armenians all over the world commemorated the alleged Armenian genocide, US President Barack Obama gave a much-expected speech in memory of the loss of Armenian lives in 1915 but stopped short of terming the killings genocide, in an attempt not to harm the fragile balance between Turks and Armenians, both of whom consider the events major building blocks of their national identities.

“Frankly, this is a matter between Turkey and France, and we want to see good relations between them,” Nuland stated, concerned over the friction between the two countries. “They are both allies of the US, and that’s our message to both sides,” she said, without elaborating on whether the US would take part in easing the tension between the nations.

Meanwhile, Andrew Duff from the United Kingdom’s Liberal Democrats said the French Parliament is wrong to play the role of a court. “The definition of genocide is properly a judicial matter and should not be reduced to the banality of party politics,” said Duff, who is also a member of the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee.

Previously, Jean-Vincent Place, leader of the Green Party that opposed the bill, had claimed there had been serious pressure on senators to vote in favor of the bill. “[Main opposition] Socialist Group leader François Rebsamen phoned all senators who would vote against the bill and asked them to stay home,” Place told Today’s Zaman, elaborating on the pressure on senators to vote in favor of the denial bill. Bariza Khiari, senate vice president, also claimed senators opposing the bill, including herself, were under serious pressure for the three days leading up to the vote on Monday.