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• Passed: French Senate outlaws Armenian genocide denial

If you have not seen the movie 'the Lark Farm', I highly recommend it you do so. It is an Italian film production about an Armenian family facing horrendous days during the early 1900's brought upon by, Turkish Genocide Industry. This film is a well balanced movie and it also gives you a basic idea on how the 'Good' Turks came to the rescue of their Armenian neighbors. You can go to you tube to w...

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The vote at the 348-member upper house of the French legislature went 127-86 in favor of the bill – which had gained international attention and sparked controversy since it was passed by the National Assembly, the lower house, in December. The lawmakers deliberated 7 hours before delivering the vote at around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday (10:30 p.m. in Paris).

The new law makes genocide denial by subjects of France punishable by up to a year in prison and 45,000 euro (about $58,000). At present, the law awaits enactment by President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose right-wing UMP party had put forward the bill that also won the backing of the Socialists.

Thousands of French Armenians and Turks reportedly held rival pickets near the Senate building in Paris ahead of the vote.

Yerevan predictably hailed the French move, while Ankara earlier warned it would sever all ties with France that had already stayed ‘frozen’ following the December 22 approval of the bill by French lawmakers.

“We have previously determined the steps to be taken if the bill is finally adopted. No one should doubt it,” said Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, according to Turkey’s state-run Anatolia news agency.

Meanwhile, France sought to allay Turkey’s ire, appealing for calm. “Turkey is a very important partner and ally of France,” said French Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero.

French-Turkish relations once already plunged into a crisis in 2001 when lawmakers in Paris passed a legislation recognizing the Ottoman-era mass killings and deportations of 1.5 million Armenians as genocide. The political, trade and military links between the two countries recovered shortly amid some lingering differences, including French opposition to Turkey’s bid to join the European Union.