Saturday, October 14, 2006

France cuts freedom of speech ...

“You have made Voltaire turn in his grave!”Andrew Duff,
the English member of the EP for East England to the French assembly.

The Zaman Daily carries the news that Brussels has been deeply troubled by the approval of the French bill making it illegal to deny the alleged Armenian genocide despite warnings from the European Union and the European Parliament (EP).

While negative reactions from EP members continue, one of the harshest criticisms came from Joost Lagendijk, chairman of European Union-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Commission, whose description of the bill was “foolish and far from belonging to Europe.”


Camiel Eurlings, the Turkey reporter of the EP, noted that France’s decision to cut down on freedom of speech had made things more difficult for Turkey, especially at a time when it was trying to establish freedom of speech and thought.

Eurlings further noted that “Politicians cannot write history; let’s leave this to historians.”

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