After the incident at the recent Paris Book Fair, where booklets denying the Armenian Genocide were distributed, the French Bureau of the Armenian Cause issued a statement strongly condemning such actions are unacceptable in France, “Nouvelles dArménie” reports.

On March 20, “Nor serund” union of Armenian Revolutionary Federation Dashnaktsutyun met with the Commissioner-General of the book fair and protested against the spread of this controversial book. Due to the union’s rapid response, it was removed from the stand of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Turkey.

On March 21, the delegation of the French Bureau of the Armenian Cause visited the office and met with the leadership of the Book Fair to convey the concerns of the Armenian community.

As it was a cultural event held under the auspices of French Ministry of Culture and Communication of France, the French Bureau sent a letter to French Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand. The Bureau  asked a meeting to discuss this issue and consider appropriate measures to prevent such incidents in the future.

In parallel, the Bureau conducted a campaign to draw 343 French senators’ attention to urgent need for the law criminalizing denial of Armenian Genocide. They asked the senators to vote for a bill passed by the National Assembly and blocked in the Senate in 2006.