Lawmakers in the upper house (Senate) voted 127 to 86 in favour of the draft law outlawing genocide denial after almost six hours of debate. The lower house had backed it in December, prompting Ankara to cancel all economic, political and military meetings with Paris and recall its ambassador for consultations.
The bill had been made more general so that it outlawed the denial of any genocide, partly in the hope of appeasing Turkey. But Ankara condemned the bill's approval and said it would take permanent steps against France, a NATO ally.
The bill now goes to President Nicolas Sarkozy to be ratified. Turkey says the bill is a bid by Sarkozy to win the votes of 500,000 ethnic Armenians in France in the two-round presidential vote on 22 April and 6 May.
"Turkey is committed to taking all the necessary steps against this unjust disposition which reduces basic human values and public conscience to nothing," Turkey's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The Turkish ambassador in Paris, Tahsin Burcuoğlu, said the vote would lead to a "total rupture" of relations between the two countries. Ankara could seek to downgrade its diplomatic presence in Paris.
"When I say total rupture I include things like I can leave definitively," he told reporters.
"You can also expect that now diplomatic relations will be at the level of chargés d'affaires, not ambassadors, anymore."
Chargé d'affaires is the lowest rank of diplomatic representative recognised under the Vienna convention on diplomatic relations.
Armenia, backed by many historians and parliaments, says about 1.5 million Christian Armenians were killed in what is now eastern Turkey during World War One in a deliberate policy of genocide ordered by the Ottoman government.
The Ottoman empire was dissolved after the end of the war, but successive Turkish governments and the vast majority of Turks feel the charge of genocide is a direct insult to their nation. Ankara argues there was heavy loss of life on both sides during fighting in the area.
"This day will be written in gold not only in the history of friendship between the Armenian and French peoples, but also in the annals of the history of the protection of human rights," said Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian.
Earlier, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç told reporters at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg that Ankara would take new and permanent measures unless the bill was rejected and compared it to the Inquisition in the Middle Ages which was created by the Catholic Church to stamp out heresy.
Arınç said Turkey could take the matter to the European Court of Human Rights.
It mandates a maximum €45,000 fine and a year in jail for offenders. France approved a law recognising the killing of Armenians as genocide in 2001.
Waving voting cards
About 200 Franco-Turks protested outside the Senate. They waved their French voting cards and banners with slogans including: "It's not up to politicians to invent history".
The Socialist Party, which has a majority in the upper house, and Sarkozy's UMP party, which put forward the bill, backed the legislation.
A non-binding Senate recommendation last week said the law would be unconstitutional and, after weeks of aggressive Turkish lobbying, there were suggestions the outcome would be closer.
Opponents in the Senate said the law would not encourage the Turks to recognise the Armenian genocide and would do nothing to help relations between the two nations.
"It is an unbearable law which calls into question historical research," said centre-left Senator Jacques Mézard.
Sarkozy is expected to ratify the bill before parliament is suspended in February ahead of the presidential election.
It could still be rejected if some 60 lawmakers agree to appeal the decision at the country's highest court and that body considers the text unconstitutional. The Constitutional Council would have one month to make its decision.
Sarkozy wrote to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan last week saying the bill did not single out any country and that Paris was aware of the "suffering endured by the Turkish people" during the final years of the Ottoman empire.
European Union candidate Turkey could not impose economic sanctions on France, given its World Trade Organisation membership and customs union accord with Europe.
But the row could cost France state-to-state contracts and would create diplomatic tension as Turkey takes an increasingly influential role in the Middle East.
COMMENTS
This is totally stupid by the French Government.
I agree with the Turkish Government's stance as the issue will backfire on France.
Every Country in the World has horror stories about its background thatit would like to have not repeated, and France has many many more. Perhaps the other nations around the World will look at French History and consider the equivalent of its Genocides in Africa and SE Asia as also a crime. Then we have the same issues against the UK, against the USA, against the Dutch, etc etc. Why stop here?
I agree with France, I think the Turkish live in some make-believe world that somehow their genocide does not warrant recongnition of its victims. I understand everyone has black spots but Turkey is unique in denying their victims justice and peace. No one in their right mind within the Western world denies the atrocities commited by the Germans against Jews, Romas and more, the British or French in their respective colonies, or the behaviour of the Americans towards native Americans. The key difference from them to Turkey is they acknowledge and accept responsibility. Just because of their locale being convinent for NATO, does not make them holier than thou.
the article misses the point that France wages the diplomatic war against Turkey by passing this bill. it will be marked as a feeble attempt in the history by a country that is losing ground in the international system while powers shift and Turkey gains stronger ground. France does not have more to lose than what they are already losing. Maybe they will get some military/policital presence in Armenia which has been isolated in its region because of its hostile attitude against its neighbors backed by Russian army. Also bear in mind that France has always hoped for existence of multi-polar world power system where Russia is a strong player, and France has not been a member of military branch of Nato until recently.
Any attempt to link this bill to the facts of history and principles of human rights is nothing but hypocricy. And linkage to the French-Armenian votes is only a disguise.
Alex,
Armenia is a country which has hostile relations to its neighbors Turkey and Azerbaijan, fought in hostile armies against Turkey, has invaded Azerbaijan land, and does not recognize the borders with Turkey. The desire for Turkish land is explicit in Armenian supreme law and Armenian politicians have been outspoken about it since the Ottoman times.
Your comment has nothing to do with the realities.
Who is france??? the country which had a criminal history and commited a range of genocides in Africa and Asia. and who is armenia? the fake country established on historical AZERBAIJANI lands. We recognise KHOJALI GENOCIDE commited by armenia in Azerbaijan's town KHOJALI in 1992 which bear a lot of facts, videos, photos, witnesses. all videos were taken by Azerbaijani, turkish, russian, american ,english journalists and tv channesl. armenia can't deny this fact. in 1918 armenia commited a genocide in Quba city of Azerbaijan and mass graves still stay. armenia is a dishonorable country. what about occupation of KARABAKH? 20% of territories of Azerbaijan has beeen invaded by armenia. Turkey is a great country and no one can do anything.
ZORI BALAYAN-REBIRTHING OF OUR SPIRIT
While entering the house which we captured with our friend Hachatur, our soldiers had already nailed a Turkish girl of 13 years old to the window. Hachatur stuffed a cut bosom of that girl’s mother into her mouth to make silence, because the girl was bitterly crying. Then I did the same to that girl which their forefathers did to our children. I peeled her scalp, belly skin and chest skin. I looked at my watch, in 7 minutes a Turkish girl died. I was not humanist because being a doctor was my first profession, that’s why I didn’t feel bad to do the brutalities to a Turkish child. But my spirit was proud of happiness because I took revenge on my enemy what they did to my nation, even if it was 1%. Then Hachatur cut the dead body of that Turkish girl into pieces and throw to the dogs which were in the same origin with this Turk. In the evening we did the same to 3 more Turk children
No one in their right mind within the Western world denies the atrocities commited by the Germans against Jews, Romas and more, the British or French in their respective colonies, or the behaviour of the Americans towards native Americans. - I couldn't agree more with this statement.
-forex contest
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