Armenian Genocide

[Bono]

France is passing a law sentencing people who deny the armenian genocide to one year of prison and a €75,000 fine.
How is this different from the turkish law that punishes people for "crimes against turkish identity"?

[Ebowed]

It's a stupid and totalitarian law, but hopefully it will put some pressure on Turkey to quit pretending that it didn't orchestrate the genocide in the first place.  Or at least bring more attention to the issue.  1.5 million people were killed and nobody even knows about it because the people who did it have been successful in hiding it from mainstream history discussions.

[MasterJedi]

Ha, what a stupid law.

[Undisguised Sockpuppet]

Its stupid.

[Michael Z]

Not the cleverest law I've ever heard about, but it would be interesting to see how wide-reaching this ban is. Does it mean you can't go to your local bar in Lyon and Toulouse or wherever and state that the Armenian genocide didn't happen? I sincerely doubt that. Does it mean you cannot write and publish an academic work stating this? More likely.

But equally, it's rather extreme, and actually not all that different to the fact that writing about the Armenian genocide can land you in serious trouble in Turkey. It just strikes me as very reactionary.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Hopefully they'll start arresting Turkish diplomats then.

[GMantis]

Hopefully they'll start arresting Turkish diplomats then.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diplomatic_immunity
But I suppose you were joking.
Any way, it is not the right way to fight for the recognition of the Armenian genocide by using the same methods used in Turkey and completely against the spirit of free speech. Still, Turkey has no moral rights to demand freedom of speech.

[Platypus]

1. The law has only passed one house and will almost certainly fail the second;

2. It only passed after a very large amount of the deputies walked out of the chamber in protest;

3. It does not have the support of the government.

[AuH2O]

Sad.