Turkish fm: Debate in French senate on Armenian bill is beyond a Turkish-Armenian debate

ANKARA (A.A) - January 20, 2012 - Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that the debate on a bill (criminalizing denial of Armenian allegations on 1915 incidents) at French Senate in coming days would be beyond a Turkish-Armenian debate. It is also beyond a third country's intervening in relations between two countries, added Davutoglu who held a joint press conference with South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Kim Sung-hwan in Ankara on Friday. Regarding a letter sent by French President Nicolas Sarkozy to Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Davutoglu said that Turkey's stance was clear, and none of the letters would change Turkey's views. Sarkozy in his letter expressed hope that the bill would not deteriorate the rooted relations between Turkey and France.  Before anything else, we expect Mr. Sarkozy, his party and French Senate to be respectful to European values, said Davutoglu. A third party's intervening in history of two countries is not right and fair, said Davutoglu, adding that moreover, eliminating people's freedom of thought and attempting to punish people for their thoughts meant to ignore the most basic principles of modern society. Noting that Sarkozy should face with his own values and history, Davutoglu also called on French senators to reconsider the bill. A committee with the French parliament approved on Wednesday 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.