Thousands of Turks protest ‘genocide’ bill

PARIS / ANKARA

Thousands of people gathered in the French capital to protest a bill that penalizes rejection of Armenian genocide claims Jan. 21. Nearly 35,000 Turks living in France and other European countries gathered despite rain and cold weather to shun the bill, Anatolia news agency reported.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said thousands of Turks had made their voices heard by using their democratic right in the protest in Paris.

“Tens of thousands of Turks made this historic event visible to all of France by crowding a 4.5-km-long avenue. The Turkish nation is proud of its history, and it will continue to be proud,” Davutoğlu told reporters in the central city of Kayseri.

The bill is set to come to the French Senate floor Jan. 23 when members of the Senate could vote to uphold a parliamentary committee decision against the proposed law and drop the bill without debate.
Protesters carried French, Turkish, Algerian and Azerbaijani flags and chanted slogans urging senator to act against the legislation. “I have been living in France for 50 years and I haven’t seen so many Turks get together.