FRANCE AGAINST FRANCE

The law that provides for criminal prosecution for denying the so-called "Armenian genocide" in the Ottoman Empire in 1915 has been recognized as unconstitutional. The Constitutional Council of France took the decision on Tuesday, 28 February 2012.

"A legislator can establish penalties if freedom of speech and the press is abused, which violates public order and the rights of third parties," the Constitutional Council's decision says. "However, restrictions on this freedom, which is one of the conditions for democracy and guarantees all the other rights and freedoms, must be necessary and appropriate for the purpose," the authors of the text went on to say. "The legislative resolution aimed at 'recognizing' the genocide does not have the regulatory power that makes it possible to issue laws on its basis," the communiqu? further says.

In other words, members of the Constitutional Council invoke the fundamental importance of freedom of speech for modern France: the text repeatedly mentions Paragraph 11 of the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen, which proclaims this freedom.

On the other hand, in order to limit this freedom it is not enough simply to adopt a series of laws: first a law recognizing the fact of genocide, then a law establishing a penalty for its denial.

For the law on the criminalization of the denial of the Armenian genocide to be adopted, it is now necessary to amend the Constitution.

So, it seems that the adventurous process that lasted several months is temporarily suspended. On 31 January this year, when a group of lawmakers appealed to the Constitutional Council, many were optimistic. The involvement of professional lawyers in the council testified to the possibility to unravel the Gordian knot in the light of the rule of law and justice, because members of the Constitutional Council do not need the votes of the Armenian diaspora, for which politicians can resort to the most unprecedented steps.

Ankara's reaction to the decision of the Constitutional Council of France was not long in coming. The Turkish embassy in Paris says in an official statement: "Turkey welcomes the news about the repeal of the law criminalizing the denial of the so-called 'Armenian genocide' in the Ottoman Empire in 1915." The official representative of the embassy also expressed the hope that this decision will help improve relations between the two countries.

The decision of France's Constitutional Court to repeal the law criminalizing the denial of the "Armenian genocide" was welcomed by Azerbaijan, too. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev regards the abolition by the Constitutional Council of France of the law criminalizing the denial of the fictional "Armenian genocide" as a triumph of freedom of speech and expression, Interfax-Azerbaijan quoted the press service of the presidential administration as saying.

"The head of state welcomes the just decision and would like to thank all the people of France, who took this strong stand," statement reads.

Apparently, the political impartiality of the members of the Constitutional Council of France contributed to the suspension of the process that would ultimately do more harm to France. At stake were the democratic image of the country and the very foundations of the Constitution, on which human rights and freedom of speech are based and for which the ancestors of the French people shed blood.

However, it would be na?ve, dangerous and even fraught with mixed consequences to assume that the process is over here. Because after the decision of the Constitutional Council, as expected, supporters of the law, led by President Nicolas Sarkozy, are not going to stop their activities.

A month ago, after a group of French MPs (including from the ruling party which advocated the bill) convened the Constitutional Council in order to challenge the law, understanding its anti-constitutional nature and the failure of the attempt to please the Armenians, Sarkozy stated that if the law was rejected, he would instruct the government to prepare a new bill. Immediately after the decision was made, the French president repeated his statement. Given that the French parliament goes on holiday before the presidential election and a new bill may be considered, at best, a year later, the words of Nicolas Sarkozy can be considered an unsuccessful attempt to save face. For the decision of the Council is a blow to Sarkozy as a presidential candidate.

The inclusion of the myth of the "Armenian genocide" on the list of subjects of the French president's campaign can be seen as a desperate move to enlist the support of pro-Armenian voters.

The campaign of another candidate for the presidency, Francois Hollande, inspires no optimism either. Repeatedly addressing representatives of the Armenian diaspora with his statements regarding the adoption of a law criminalizing the denial of the "Armenian genocide" last year, Hollande caused a negative reaction from the Turkish government.

Following a detailed analysis of the list of promising ministers in the event of Hollande's victory in the presidential elections, we can say that the future policy of France promises even more trouble for Turkey than the possible re-adoption of the bill.

According to analysts, if Hollande wins, the post of prime minister will be taken by his close friend Michel Sapin - an Armenophile and a politician who stands out for his clearly anti-Turkish sentiments. Other associates of Hollande also stand out for their anti-Turkish sentiments.

For all these reasons, it would be naive to expect a slowdown in anti-Turkish and pro-Armenian rhetoric in France if Sarkozy's main opponent wins and to link it only to domestic factors - such as the activity of the Armenian diaspora or nationalist sentiments among the population, which has recently become a pan-European trend.

France sees Turkey as its historical rival in regions such as North Africa and the Middle East, and such bills are artificial obstacles to Turkey's accession to the EU and clear levers of opposition.

This is yet another round of the long and dishonest game against Turkey, and the Armenians, as always, are assigned the role of pawns.