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France's Parliament passed a bill "making it illegal to deny the mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks nearly a century ago was genocide."
France already recognizes the genocide. The new measure makes denying it illegal. It also imposes a one-year prison sentence and $57,000 fine.
In response, Turkey threatened a "total rupture" of diplomatic ties. All economic, political and military ones were cancelled after France's lower House passed the law. Its ambassador was recalled, and Ankara said further retaliatory measures would follow.
Nonetheless, on January 24, the BBC said "President Nicolas Sarkozy is expected to sign the bill into law before the end of February," ahead of April presidential elections. In fact, his UMP party proposed it. Enactment seems assured.
Moreover, an estimated 500,000 Armenians live in France. Sarkozy's trailing in the polls. Signing's perhaps a way to improve his chances. At this point, they're shaky at best.
Armenia's Minister of Foreign Affairs Edward Nalbanian said:
"This day will be written in gold not only in the history of friendship between the Armenian and French peoples, but also in the annals of the history of the protections of human rights."
Perhaps he didn't read Reynald Secher's book titled, "A French Genocide: The Vendee," in which he called France's actions against the anti-clerical Republican government during the French Revolution the first modern genocide. He also ignored France's complicity with America's modern genocidal history.
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