Turkish president condemns Armenian bill adopted at French Senate

ANKARA (A.A) - January 24, 2012 - Turkish President Abdullah Gul condemned the Armenian bill which was adopted by French Senate. I condemn regretfully French Senate's adopting a bill which criminalizes the denial of Armenian allegations about 1915 incidents during Ottoman period, said Gul. As of yesterday, such an important country of Europe has become one of the countries which limit freedom of expression, added Gul. French Senate on Monday adopted a bill that criminalizes the denial of Armenian allegations pertaining to the incidents of 1915. With the adoption of the bill, the denial of Armenian allegations regarding the incidents of 1915 would be penalized with a prison term of one year and a monetary fine of 45,000 euros in France. Noting that the bill was an investment for upcoming elections in France, Gul said that such a move lowered France. Gul expressed hope that 60 French senators would apply to Constitutional Court to remove this shadow on French democracy. If the bill was not taken to Constitutional Court, Turkish-French relations would be carried to different dimensions, said Gul.