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http://www.zaman.com/?bl=international&alt=&trh=20050507&hn=19254

zaman.com Published: (May) Saturday 07, 2005

Armenians Take Initiative to Remove Court Condition in Belgium

By Selcuk Gultasli

Belgian Armenians intensified their activities to amend the draft bill, which contains a provision for jail sentence and fine, for those who deny the Armenian "genocide".

Claiming that there are too many requirements for the jail sentence and the fine in the bill, Armenian groups took the support of 15 senators required to amend the bill. Hence it passed the Parliament and will be discussed in the Senate and may be sent back to Parliament for re-negotiation. The news that the draft may be amended increased the discomfort of the Belgian Turkish society as it was making efforts to stop the present bill.

The draft accepted in Parliament with 108 "yes", 21"abstain," and zero "no" on April 21, makes the decision of an international court necessary for the penalty to be imposed. The fact that there is not any court decision that recognizes the Armenian "genocide" prompted Belgian Armenians to take action. Armenian associations bombarded Belgian senators with messages for the last two weeks to remove the requirement of court approval. The signatures of 15 senators, who will set up the debate for the draft upon the intensified efforts of Armenians, were gathered two days before, on May 5. If 15 signatures had not been gathered, the draft would have been accepted in Parliament in its original form and court approval would have been required for the penalty to be imposed. In the new draft, it is highlighted that European Parliament (EP) decision or any country to enact legislation will be enough for the ones who deny "genocide" to be imposed penalty. The EP accepted the Armenian "genocide" with a controversial decision in 1987 and recognized "genocide" with legislation enacted in France in 2001.

Brussels


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