Flautre criticizes French bill

Helene Flautre, Co-chair of the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee, defined the bill penalizing denial of Armenian 'genocide,' which was approved by French assembly yesterday, as "disgusting." Flautre described the move displayed by French President Nicolas Sarkozy as a "simple maneuver towards the elections," adding, "I'm quite angry with Sarkozy and his government. They are using people's sorrows in order to be elected." Reiterating that France is against Turkey's EU membership, Flautre said that Sarkozy had a "hostile attitude" against Turkey. "None of the countries, particularly France, is in a position to give history lesson to another country," adding, "Turkey is at the stage of taking steps to face its own history. An atmosphere allowing everybody to express his opinion is necessary towards this end. This resolution will hinder this. When the bill was previously discussed in France, Hrant Dink said to me that he would deny the genocide at the Concorde Square. He was protecting freedom of thought and expression. Now I understand him better." Flautre further stated that history should not be judged by politicians, but by academics and historians.