Turkish Committee Arrives in France to Lobby Against Armenian Bill
Turkish Parliament and the Foreign Ministry have sent a committee to France prior to the vote on the law penalizing the denial of the Armenian genocide claims, which is scheduled to appear on the French Parliament's agenda on May 4.
The bill, recently denied by the French Senate Constitution Commission, envisions five years' imprisonment and a fine of up to 45,000 euros for people on French territory who deny the Armenian genocide claims.
The Turkish committee lobbying against the bill consists of representatives specializing in foreign politics from political parties in Parliament, headed by the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, Düzce deputy Yaşar Yakış.
Osman Korutürk, who served as the Turkish Ambassador to France from 2005-2009 when the draft was first brought to the agenda, is part of the committee. He told Hürriyet Daily News that the Turkish committee was conducting meetings in France regarding the bill in order to preserve Turkish-French relations.
Yakış and Korutürk will be joined by AKP Istanbul deputy Nur Suna Memecan, Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP, Ankara deputy Tuğrul Türkeş, and Republican People's Party, or CHP, deputy leader Gülsün Bilgehan.