`So-called "Armenian genocide" should be assessed by historians`
31 January 2014
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Assessment of the so-called "Armenian genocide" should be given by historians, a member of the Constitutional Council of France, Guy Canivet said.
"Concerning this issue, I consider it is better to leave everything to historians, including the conduct of historical searches, documentations, investigations and publications," Guy Canivet said to Azerbaijani journalists.
Armenia and the Armenian lobby claim that the predecessor of Turkey, the Ottoman Empire, had committed the 1915 genocide against Armenians living in Anatolia and achieved recognition of the "Armenian genocide" by the parliaments of several countries.
In late January 2012, 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 because it `infringes on a freedom of expression and communication`.
