Reuters AlertNet Lite - French Armenian genocide bill makes no sense-US

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French Armenian genocide bill makes no sense-US

20 Oct 2006 13:45:50 GMT
Source: Reuters

BRUSSELS, Oct 20 (Reuters) - A French parliamentary bill that would make it a crime to deny that Armenians suffered genocide at the hands of Ottoman Turks in World War One makes no sense, a senior U.S. official said on Friday.

Daniel Fried, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs, said he backed French President Jacques Chirac's opposition to the bill, which has infuriated Turkey even though it may never become law.

"I certainly share the view that this legislation criminalising discussion doesn't seem to make any sense," Fried told a news briefing in Brussels.

He said the United States and President George W. Bush had spoken out repeatedly about the mass killings of Armenians during World War One and did not want to minimise or deny them.

However, he added: "We as a government have never termed these events genocide. We don't use that word."

Fried said the United States would like to see Turks and Armenians address the issue honestly and some Turks were already urging their government to do so.

"It doesn't strike me as clear that resolutions like this in the French parliament are going to encourage this process."

Turkey denies claims that Armenians suffered genocide, arguing that large numbers of both Christian Armenians and Muslim Turks died in a partisan conflict that raged as the Ottoman Empire collapsed.

Given opposition from Chirac and the French Senate, the bill is unlikely to become law but it has infuriated Turkey, where consumer groups have called for a boycott of French-made goods.

France, which faces presidential elections next year, is home to Europe's largest Armenian diaspora.

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Last updated:Fri Oct 20 13:47:19 2006