Azernews.Az

YEREVAN – The Armenian community in France has asked in a meeting with President Nicolas Sarkozy to assist passage of a bill in parliament making it a crime to deny the alleged World War I-era killings of their ancestors in Turkey, Armenia Today news agency reported.

But Sarkozy reportedly said his government would not put any pressure on the French Senate to adopt the draft law on the so-called genocide.

The bill, passed in the French National Assembly in 2006, requires approval of the French Senate to become law. It will be included in the Senate agenda again on Wednesday, May 4, on the proposal of several lawmakers. Moreover, backers of the bill are expected to stage a protest outside the Senate building on the same day.

The bill, tabled in the French legislature by opposition Socialist Party, passed in the National Assembly on October 12, 2006 by 106 votes to 19. The draft law envisioned a one-year jail term and Euro 45,000 fine for those denying the alleged genocide occurred. The bill was further sent to the Senate, but the French government postponed discussions on the issue to avoid tarnishing its relations with Turkey.

According to historians, from 1915 to 1923, Armenians began an uprising, taking up arms against Turkey, and assisted Russia, one of Turkey’s enemies in WWI. To counter these actions, the Ottoman Empire decided to resettle the Armenians. However, the latter claim that their predecessors suffered "genocide" in the process. Ankara dismisses the claims and has repeatedly offered to research the events through a joint commission of historians.