CoE Human Rights commissioner disapproves of France's genocide bill

Council of Europe (CoE) Commissioner for Human Rights Thomas Hammarberg, during his Istanbul visit, said he disapproves of the French Parliament's genocide denial bill. The controversial bill, which France's lower house approved in December, seeks punishment for anyone who rejects the term "genocide" as the appropriate description for the mass murders of Armenians in 1915. Hammarberg, during a discussion last Friday on the newly released Turkish translation of his "Human Rights in Europe" report, made it clear that he thinks France is going about what he refers to as a "sensitive" issue the wrong way. "I am not an advocate of initiatives such as that in France that legislate their opinions on human rights violations like the Armenian issue," Hammarberg said, adding that this "hinders the freedom of expression." But Turkey should initiate independent, extensive investigations of what happened in 1915, the human rights commissioner advised. Hammarberg does discuss Turkey's Armenian "massacres" in his report, but said he does so with great sensitivity. "I do recommend that everyone reads the part that deals with the Armenian massacres. I made sure I took great care in handling this sensitive issue," he said. In his report, the commissioner makes a similar call for further discussion on this "controversial" issue: "I hope that a genuine process of understanding and acknowledgement will also start between Armenia and Turkey. The very description of the enforced mass displacement and the ensuing deaths, as well as the outright killings of ethnic Armenians in 1915 under the Ottoman Empire, continue to be extremely controversial." While he does acknowledge some progress in Turkey's efforts to delve into its past, Hammarberg also criticizes in his report the detainment of those who have tried to breach the issue: "Even though these events occurred before the creation of the new Turkish Republic, there has been an unwillingness to discuss these crimes in Turkey. Writers and journalists who have tried to raise the issue have been brought to trial. Some steps towards recognizing the facts are now being taken -- largely through academic discussion -- but much more needs to be done."Thousands of Turks protesting the French government-initiated genocide proposal marched through Paris on Saturday. Waving the republic's flag, the crowd marched to the senate, where the bill will be debated on Monday.