77 French senators appealed for rejection of Armenian genocide law to the French supreme Constitutional Council, a development that raised prospects of annulment of the controversial legislation which has provoked Turkey.

Paris / NationalTurk – More than 70 French parliamenters, members of senate and lawmakers appealed to the country’s highest court Tuesday to overturn a law that penalizes denial of mass Armenian deaths nearly a century ago during World War I era was genocide.

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A minimum of 60 lawmakers is needed to make an appeal to the Constitutional Council, which has one month to make its decision after efforts from Turkish envoy im France tried to mobilize French senators for appeal. The move raises the possibility that the law, which sparked an angry reaction in Turkey, will be dismissed and rejected as unconstitutional and against freedom of expression after French court evaluates it.

The 11-member Constitutional Council has 30 days to decide whether the legislation is unconstitutional. But it may be forced to rule in eight days if the government requests an emergency decision.

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The bill, which received final approval on January 23, prompted Ankara to cancel all economic, political and military meetings with Paris. Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan attacked the French parliament for passing what he said was “discriminatory and racist” legislation.

More than 70 senators from across the political divide made the appeal to the court, said Jacques Mezard, a senator from a left-leaning party, the Democratic and Social European Group. Another 50 lawmakers in the lower house agreed to the appeal.

Armenia claims 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. It is known that during the war Armenians have backstabbed the Turks and Kurds in the region and the rebel bands and after them Russians murdered many Turkish citizens with help from treacherous Armenians.

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The Ottoman state was dissolved following the events of the World War I, but successive Turkish governments and the vast majority of Turks feel the charge of genocide is a direct insult to their nation and ‘nazifies ‘ Turkey undeservedly with a shameful scar unlike Germany is branded by some of the world still as ‘Nazis’ today. Ankara government argues there was heavy loss of life on both sides during fighting in the Eastern Anatolia, Turkey.

The France’s alleged Genocide bill, which received final parliamentary approval on Jan. 23, needs to be approved by French President Nicolas Sarkozy in order to go into effect. Sarkozy’s part backs the Armenian Genocide Law strongly. But the Constitutional Council may now cancel it on grounds of violating the French constitution and Freedom of Speech before it gets to Sarkozy(an).

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The Constitutional Council, whose 11 members include former French presidents and others appointed by the president, and presidents of the Senate and the French National Assembly, rule on conformity of legislation after they have been voted by Parliament and before they are signed into law by the president. Former French presidents Valerie Giscard d’Estaing and Jacques Chirac are currently members of the council, headed by Jean-Louis Debre.

Should the Armenian genocide bill go into effect in France, those who deny that the killings of Armenians during World War I era in eastern Anatolia were genocide ,will face crimianal charges and eventually punishments. It sets a sentance of up to one year in a French prison and a fine of 45,000 euros for those who deny or “outrageously minimize” the killings — putting such action on par with denial of the Great Holocaust, which unjustly marks many Germans today still as ‘Nazis’.

Turkey has protested the bill, saying it is an attack on freedom of expression. It has also warned it would impose unspecified sanctions if the measure eventually goes into effect. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan attacked the French parliament for passing what he said was “discriminatory and racist” legislation. It is a woeful attempt to get the Armenian votes in France in the upcoming presidential elections

Turkey hails appeal for cancellation of France Armenian Genocide atrocity

On Tuesday, Erdoğan praised the French parliamentarians for seeking to reject the bill. “This is what befits France. The senators did what befits France,” he told reporters.

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