Sarkozy orders his government to draft a new law punishing denial of the Armenian Genocide

YEREVAN, February 29. /ARKA/. French president Nicolas Sarkozy has ordered his government to draft a new law punishing denial of the Armenian genocide after a top court struck down a previous bill, RIA Novosti reported. 

The Constitutional Council earlier ruled the law backed by Sarkozy infringed on freedom of expression. The bill, which covers the mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks during World War I, was passed by both houses of the French parliament. 

Noting the "great disappointment and profound sadness" of the law's backers, Sarkozy's office wrote in a statement: "The President of the Republic considers that genocide denial is intolerable and must therefore be punished. 

He has asked the government to prepare a new draft taking into account the decision of the Constitutional Council."

After passage of the bill in the French Senate last month, dozens of lawmakers from across the political spectrum submitted appeals to the Constitutional Court, insisting that the legislation violated free speech rights and that it was not the place of the legislature to impose its own explanation for the hundreds of thousands of Armenian deaths that began in 1915, amid the chaos of World War I and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.

Sarkozy, who strongly backed the law, did not abandon his promise to the Armenian Diaspora.

"The president believes that the denial of crimes is unacceptable and must be punished. He will soon meet with representatives of the Armenian community in France. He ordered the government to prepare a new text with a view of the decision of the Constitutional Council", Sarkozy’s press office said in a statement.

A recommendation to change the law is contained in the decision of the Constitutional Court, which says that " It is legitimate for the Parliament to institute indictments on abuse of the exercise of freedom of expression and communication that violate public order and the rights of others."

France already recognises the killings of Armenians as an act of genocide, but the new law would have meant that anyone denying it would face up to a year in jail and a maximum fine of 45,000 euros. -0-