French Armenians call on president to initiate adoption of bill criminalising so-called genocide

The French cultural association Hayastan continues to collect signatures on a petition to be presented to French President Hollande Frnasua, urging him to keep his campaign promise and initiate the process of adoption of the bill criminalising denial of the so-called 'Armenian genocide', News-Armenia reported with reference to Nouvelles d'Armenie.

According to the publication, the collection of signatures is being held in Paris, Lyon and Marseille.

In January last year, the French parliament adopted a bill criminalising denial of genocides recognised by law including the so-called 'genocide' of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire. The document called for a sentence of a year in prison and a fine of 45,000 euros for denial of the 'genocide'.

A month later the supreme supervisory authority, the Constitutional Council, found the law unconstitutional, as it 'infringes on the freedom of expression and communication'.

Armenia and the Armenian lobby claim that the predecessor of Turkey, the Ottoman Empire, committed 'genocide' against the Armenians living in Anatolia in 1915. Worldwide Armenians, willing to recognise this fact, achieved its recognition by parliaments of some countries through strengthening propaganda of the so-called 'genocide' in the world.