Turkey welcomes French committee's decision on a bill about Armenian allegations

ANKARA (A.A) - January 18, 2012 - Turkish Foreign Ministry welcomed the decision of a French parliamentary committee which approved an amendment that might avert a debate at the Senate floor on a bill making it a crime to deny Armenian allegations on the Ottoman era incidents of 1915.   The committee displayed its common sense and respect to law with this decision, said the Ministry on Wednesday. Now, we are expecting general assembly of the French Senate to show the same common sense on January 23, it added. A committee with the French parliament approved today an amendment that may avert a debate at the Senate floor on a bill which makes it a crime to deny Armenian allegations on the Ottoman era incidents of 1915. The bill is set to come to the Senate floor next Monday but French Senate members could vote to uphold the Legislations Committee's decision and drop the bill off the agenda without debating it. The bill, which got the approval of the lower house of the French parliament, makes denial of Ottoman era incidents of 1915 punishable in France with a prison term of one year and a fine of 45,000 euro.  A similar bill -- proposed by the Socialist Party -- was approved in 2006 by the lower house but the Senate rejected to debate the bill last May when it upheld the committee's decision back then.