By Alexandra Halsey-Storch
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

PARIS, France–Late Monday night the French Senate passed a new genocide law that could be signed by French President, Nicholas Sarkozy, in just two weeks; the new law elicited angry reactions from Turkey.

The new legislation provides that, “those who have publicly denied or trivialized crimes of genocide” could be subject to a year in prison and/or a 45,000-euro fine (the equivalent of $58,00). Although the law does not mention specifically the “massacre of hundreds of thousands of ethnic Armenians by Ottoman Turks,” the seven-hour debate in the French senate on Monday focused primarily on the memory of the Armenian genocide.

As a nation, Turkey has, and continues to deny that the killing of 1.2 million ethnic Armenians was “genocide.” The United Nations has defined genocide as “the killing of, injuring of, or displacing of members of a national, ethnic, racial or religious group with the intent to destroy the group.”  Turkey claims that the estimated 1.2 million deaths is a gross exaggeration and that “there was no attempt to wipe out the whole group,” instead arguing “that hundreds of thousands of Armenian Christians and Muslim Turks died from intercommunal violence, disease and general chaos.” Moreover, under Turkish law today, recognizing these particular deaths as genocide is an “insult to Turkish identity” that could result in a criminal conviction.

Notwithstanding Turkey’s strong and passionate denial, France, along with many other countries throughout the world, have in fact declared the 1915 killings “genocide.” In 2001, France enacted a law codifying this belief. As such, if the latest genocide law is signed by President Sarkozy, any person that denies the 1915 killings as being a genocide could face severe penalties.

While Armenia’s foreign minister, Edward Nalbandian, recognized Monday as a day which will be “written in gold,” and avowed France as “a genuine defender of universal human values,” the Turkish government, and supporters of the government, could not have been less enthusiastic. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed that the French legislation “represented evident discrimination, racism and massacre of free speech,” adding that “we have not lost our hope yet that this mistake can be corrected.” Various headlines found on Turkish newspapers screamed “Guillotine to History” and “Guillotine to Thought.” Yet another said, “He Massacred Democracy” next to a photo of Sarkozy.  

Despite the Bill’s seemingly good intentions, even Amnesty International has agreed with Turkish sentiment. Nicola Duckworth, the Director of Europe and Central Asia at Amnesty Internationa,l claimed that the legislation “would violate freedom of expression by making it a criminal offense to publicly question events termed as ‘genocide’ under French law,” a principal that has been repeatedly upheld by the European Court of Human Rights. She went on to explain that “this bill…would have a chilling effect on public debate and contravene France’s international obligations to uphold freedom of expression…People should be free to express their opinions on this issue—in France, Turkey and elsewhere.” In short, should this bill be enacted, it will be clear that “French authorities are failing to comply with their international human rights obligations,” she said.

In addition to violating international law, the direct conflict between France’s new law and Turkish law, not to mention Turkish nationalism, could cause “permanent harm to Franco-Turkish relations.” When the French lower house of parliament passed the genocide law in December, Turkey withdrew Tahsin Burcuoglu, the country’s ambassador, from Paris and suspended military ties with France. Additionally, some Turkish politicians have warned of further sanctions and the permanent removal of the ambassador while the Turkish President, Abdullah Gul wasted no time declaring that the “bilateral relations are at a different level from now on.” The Nationalist Movement Party expressed a desire to terminate the Turkish and French friendship parliamentary committee.

For more information, please visit:

Ekklesia—France’s Armenian Genocide Bill Threatens Free Speech, Says Amnesty—26 January 2012

RFI—France’s Armenian Genocide Bill—Who? What? When? Where? Why?—25 January 2012

New York Times—French Bill on Genocide Is Denounced by Turkey—24 January 2012

 CNN—Turkey Blasts French Passage of Genocide Law—24 January 2012

By Terance Walsh
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

PARIS, France — Human rights watch issued a report Thursday documenting discriminatory practices of French police.  The report accuses the police of “using overly broad powers to conduct unwarranted and abusive identity checks on black and Arab young men and boys.”

Details of the discriminatory acts in the report, entitled “The Root of Humiliation: Abusive Identity Checks in France,” include probing questioning, invasive patdowns, and sometimes excessive force.  Usually the checks are done without any indication of wrongdoing and at times involve the use of racial slurs.  The report focuses its attention on minority communities in the cities of Paris, Lille, and Lyon.

Judith Sutherland, a Western Europe researcher at Human Rights Watch, said, “It’s shocking that young black and Arab kids can be, and are, arbitrarily forced up against walls and manhandled by the police with no real evidence of wrongdoing.  But if you are a young person in some neighborhoods in France, it’s a part of life.”

This kind of behavior by the police is allowed under French law, which affords broad discretion to police for search and seizure.  The police do not systematically record the searches nor do they give documentation explaining to those searched the premises of the check.

The political climate in France seems to foster this kind of discrimination.  In the last presidential election law enforcement and reducing crime were top issues.  President Nicholas Sarkozy came to power with a “law-and-order” image.  Now far-right politicians who take hard-line stances on immigration are registering high poll numbers.

Farid A., who lives outside of Paris, said that he and his friends were stopped three times near the Eiffel Tower.  “We came out of the metro, a check. We walk 200 meters, another check. We walk 200 meters, and another check.  There were a lot of people, but they stopped only us.”

Incidents of violence were also noted in the report.  On 17-year-old boy gave his account of an encounter with the police.  “When we were there with our hands against the wall, I turned toward him [the officer who was frisking him] and he hit me on the head. I said something like why are you hitting me, and he said to shut up, ‘You want a shot of [tear] gas or what?”

In its report, Human Rights Watch warns that ethnic profiling by the police works to divide the community.  France should be especially sensitive to animosity between races following the 2005 riots that grew out of tension between police and ethnic minorities.

“Frankly, police-community relations in France are dismal, and everyone knows it,” Sunderland said. “Taking concrete steps to prevent abusive identity checks – one of the main sources of tension – would be a real step forward and would make a genuine difference in people’s daily lives.”

Pascal Garibian, the national spokesman for the police, dismissed the Human Rights Watch report as a caricature of the police and called it unfair and unscientific.

This is not the first report documenting racial profiling by French law-enforcement authorities.  A report from 2007-2008 by Open Society Justice Initiative found that black people are six times more likely to be searched by police and Arab people are eight times more likely to be checked by the police.

Included in the report were several statements from French citizens who recount unreasonable searches by police.  Here are a few.

Ouamar C., 13 years old, Paris

“I was sitting with some friends…and they came to do a stop. I didn’t talk because if you talk they take you downtown. They opened my bag. They searched my body too. Like every time. They didn’t find anything on me. That was the first time it happened in front of my school. They say, ‘Up against the wall.’ They search, and when it’s over they say thank-you and leave…I was scared at first, now I’m getting used to it.”

Haroun A., 14 years old, Bobigny:

“I was at the shopping mall with some friends having fun. They [the police] come with their weapons and point them at us. There were three of them. They said: ‘Identity check.’ Two of them had their Flash-Balls [a gun that shoots rubber bullets] in their hands. There were five or six of us. We weren’t doing anything. They just stop us all the time like that. When there’s a group of us, they stop us right away. They asked if we had stuff.  They put us against the wall. They search even in our socks and shoes.  They didn’t find anything. They don’t always ask for our papers.”

Halim B., 17 years old, Lille:

“The bus stops and the police come on. I was sitting in the back. It was 7:20 in the morning. The bus was full…They pointed to one guy and said, ‘You get up and get off with us.’ I was watching. I thought he was a criminal. And then they pointed at me to get off too. Three people had to get off, and two of them were Arabs. The bus was full. There were plenty of people standing. There were more [white] French on the bus…They [the police] have the right to do these checks whenever they like but honestly I was upset. I felt like I was a burglar, a wanted criminal. I was scared when they told me to get off. I wondered what I’d done. When I got off [the bus], they said, ‘contrôle [identity check], do you have anything illegal on you, empty your pockets.’ They searched my bag and then let me go. I got to school a bit late.  Honestly, I wasn’t poorly dressed or anything, I was going to school.”

For more information please see:

BikyaMasr — French Police Abuse Power With Black And Arab Men, Says Report — 27 January 2012

Connexion — ‘Excessive’ Police Force Criticized — 27 January 2012

OnIslam — Police Under Fire On Minority Abuse — 27 January 2012

RFI — French Police Accused Of Racial Profiling By Human Rights Group — 27 January 2012

Human Rights Watch — France: Abusive Identification Checks Of Minority Youth — 26 January 2012