French Senator: "French bill violates the constitution"
YAYINLAMA
GÜNCELLEME
French Senator Esther Benbassa, one of 77 parliamentarians who have appealed to the country's supreme Constitutional Council to overturn a bill that penalizes denial of Armenian genocide claims, said yesterday that in case the application was accepted, the law recognizing killings of Armenians as genocide which was enacted in 2001 would drop. Speaking to the Star daily, Benbassa said, "For us, the bill technically violates the Constitution. Those who have appealed have voted primarily on these grounds. Secondly, we have voted for this, because France has no right to tell Turkey what to do. This is an historical issue. If laws were enacted in order to gain votes, France would attempt at enacting laws merely to serve its own interests. We have appealed to the court not because we are against Armenians or Turks, but because the bill violates the Constitution." Benbassa added that she had to face many criticisms from Armenians in her electoral area and that even the Armenian mayor avoided shaking hands with her.