Turkey's EU minister says French senators should respond to calls to drop off Armenian bill

ISTANBUL (A.A) - January 22, 2012 - Turkey's European Union Minister Egemen Bagis on Sunday said French senators, who are set to discuss a bill that makes it a crime to deny Armenian allegations on the Ottoman era incidents of 1915, would respond to calls to drop of the bill of the agenda of the senate. "I hope the message of our brothers, who acted in defense of freedom of expression, democracy and values of the French Revolution, will resonate at the Elysee Palace," Bagis said during a meeting in Istanbul.  On Saturday nearly 40 thousand Turks living in France and other European countries gathered in Paris to protest a bill that makes it a crime to deny Armenian allegations on the Ottoman era incidents of 1915. Upper house of the French parliament is set to discuss on Monday the bill penalizes denial of the Armenian allegations with a prison term of one year and a fine of 45 thousand euros.  The Senate could vote to uphold an earlier parliamentary committee decision and drop the bill off the agenda without even debating it. 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. "There will be no winners from this debate. and I hope the senators would make a wise decision," Bagis said.