The bill would impose a 45,000-euro (58,267 U.S. dollars) fine and a year in jail on those guilty of denying that World War 1-era deaths of over one million Armenians under the Ottoman rule amounted to "genocide."Paris (ANTARA News/Xinhua-OANA) - French Senate on Monday passed a bill criminalizing the denial of the controversial Armenian "genocide," which has caused tension between Paris and Ankara.
Ankara froze political and military ties with France after the bill was passed by French lower house of parliament in December.
The bill would impose a 45,000-euro (58,267 U.S. dollars) fine and a year in jail on those guilty of denying that World War 1-era deaths of over one million Armenians under the Ottoman rule amounted to "genocide."
It was rejected on Wednesday by French Senate`s Laws Commission and some analysts had predicted most of the senators likely to oppose the bill would abstain.
Turkey rejects the term "genocide," insisting that the Armenians were victims of widespread chaos and governmental breakdown as the Ottoman Empire collapsed before modern Turkey was created.
(C003)
Editor: Ella Syafputri
Copyright © ANTARA 2012
