Broad segments of society in Turkey seem to be united against the bill penalising the denial of genocide that will be discussed on 22 of December 2011 in the French Parliament. Alongside with the state's denialism and threats, business and consumer associations, and the support provided by civil society, Turkey's intelligentsia too expresses ideas against the bill. The common ground for all these sectors against France is the freedom of expression. It is argued that banning the denial of Armenian Genocide is a violation of freedom of expression.
We, as Istanbul Branch of the Human Rights Association, Turkey, Commission against Racism and Discrimination declare that denial of a crime against humanity such as genocide has nothing to do with freedom of expression.
The denial of the annihilation of a nation with all its social system, prof essions, works of art and historical heritage by the state itself intentionally and in a planned manner, means to endorse the crime and to justify such violence. Therefore denial cannot be considered within the boundaries of freedom of speech; it is a violence against the grandchildren of genocide survivors in Turkey and elsewhere in the world and against the memory of the genocide victims. The European Court of Human Rights in many cases ruled that freedom of expression is not applicable to expression of violence.
The UN General Assembly adopted the Convention for Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in December 1948 and the Convention came into force in January 1951. Since that day Holocaust denial has been punished in many countries with fines and prison sentences.
The punishment of Holocaust denial entails fine and up to 20 years' prison sentence in Austria, fine and up to 1 year's prison sentence in Belgium, 6 months to 2 years' prison sentence in Czech Republic, fine and 5 months' prison sentence in Germany, fine and 1 month - 2 years' priso n sentence in France, 3 to 4 years' prison sentence in Italy and fine and 1 to 10 years' prison sentence in Lithuania. In other words the punishment of genocide denial is neither new nor specific to France.
On 1 February 2011 the Reis-ul Ulema of Bosnian Muslims Mustafa Cerić, during a visit to the Auschwitz concentration camp together with a group of 150, comprising Christian, Muslim and Jewish delegations said those who denied Holocaust or the genocide of Muslims in Srebrenica should be treated as accomplices in the crime committed.
In the case of progressive intellectuals, another argument used against the French bill banning denial is the memory of Hrant Dink who in 2006 opposed to debates in foreign countries' parliaments on penalising genocide denial and to the passage of such laws. We believe it is wrong by all means to base one's opinion about today's French bill on the views expressed years ago by Hrant Dink who was assassinated as a result of collaboration between the state's special war apparatus and fascist elements. Not only it is absurd to speculate on what would Hrant Dink think today, but also it is fundamental to the freedom of thought - something they uphold highly - that individuals should have the right to develop t heir own independent opinion free of others' guidance.
In conclusion, we invite the NGO's; the business organisations such as Union of Turkish Chambers and Commodity Exchanges and Association of Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen; opinion makers and intellectuals to stop campaigning against the French Parliament and work for the recognition of the Armenian genocide, the Assyrian genocide and the ethnic cleansing of Greeks by the state and the society as a whole.
Human Rights Association, Istanbul Branch
The Committee Against Racism and Discrimination
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