ANKARA/PARIS (Combines Sources)–The Speaker of Turkey’s Parliament, in a meeting Tuesday with a French Senator, urged France to not “intervene” on the Armenian Genocide.
The “request” not to interfere came as French Armenian youth organizations announced they would stage a sit in at the French Senate every week to demand the passage of a resolution criminalizing denial of the Armenian Genocide.
Turkish Parliament Speaker Koksal Toptan told Josselin de Rohan, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs, Defense and Armed Forces Committee of the French Senate: "We request our French friends not to intervene in Turkish-Armenian relations. Any intervention will damage them."
In response, the French official said France does not have any intention to intervene in Turkish-Armenian relations or dialogue between them. He described Turkish President Abdullah Gul’s visit to Armenia as "important," noting that the parties should face the future.
Chairman of the Nor Serount Organization–the youth organization of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation of France–Armen Serobian told Armenpress that the sit ins aim to demonstrate that French-Armenian youth condemn the denial of the Genocide and find that it contradicts French values.
The youth will come together under the slogan of “We Won’t Allow” and place an information booth in front of the Luxemburg Chamber (where the Senate is located) to present the realities of Genocide denial. The bill criminalizing the denial of the Armenian Genocide was adopted by the lower house of French parliament in 2006 with a majority of votes.
The protests will take place every Wednesday until December 17.