Censoring Genocide Denial?

The atrocity of the Armenian genocide continues to impact the world today because of the ongoing struggle of the Armenians to have the genocide recognized globally. Turkey denies the incident and avoids apologizing for it. Ongoing debates concerning the recognition of this genocide by powers such as the US are extensive with strong arguments from both sides. The crucial point of controversy is Turkey's role as an ally and the negative consequences such a recognition might have.

One nation that boldly recognized the event and ignored possible fears of alienating Turkey is France. France has gone beyond simply recognizing the genocide and has attempted to curtail denial of the event. Recently, its legislature passed a bill criminalizing the denial of the Armenian genocide. The bill imposes a fine and a one year prison sentence on anyone denying officially recognized genocides. France already has criminalized denial of the Holocaust. This bill has expanded the crime to include all official genocides, which to France are the Holocaust and Armenian killings.

Although Turkey's denial of the Armenian genocide may be unfounded, does such reasoning allow those who deny it to be persecuted? As opponents to this bill in France have pointed out, this is clearly a violation of freedom of speech. It is essentially arresting people who speak in opposition to the government's policies. This is a form of censorship and an attempt to eliminate an unsightly or bothersome opinion. Such a precedent is dangerous because it implies that that state, France, has the ability to regulate speech and the discussion of ideas. Although France may be trying to right a situation they perceive as wrong, they are violating basic rights of speech to accomplish this.

Most historians outside of Turkey will rightfully attribute the Armenian genocide to Turkey; however, those who deny it should be immune from persecution. Typically, speech is permissible even when it dissents from the majority or the government, even if the speech may be incorrect. One may expound that the Earth is flat, but avoid imprisonment from the state even if such a statement is false. France is truly being ironic in this legislation. It is attempting to protect the historical rights of the Armenians, but infringes the rights of others at the same time.

Read about the legislation briefly here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/24/world/europe/french-senate-passes-genocide-bill-angering-turks.html