The French government urges to vote for genocide bill, French Minister said speaking during the Senate debate on bill banning the Armenian Genocide denial.

Minister for relationship with Parliament Patrick Ollier said that those who forget the past, risk to face it again.

“Historical revisionism is an insult of collective memory we had,” he said.

“Society must deal with the poison of denial policy. I’ve heard a lot of criticism against the bill. Six countries have adopted a law criminalizing genocide denial and as many countries have adopted a law criminalizing Holocaust. Freedom is freedom and responsibility can not be expressed in an insult, therefore the law is needed,” he said addressing the French Senators on Monday.

According to him, the matter concerns not those who are discussing genocide sitting in a cafe with friends, but those who are doing it publicly in press or at public meetings.

Referring to Turkish-French relations, the minister noted that one can not ignore Turkey: “Turkey is a great country, we want to develop our economic relations. Ankara is a strategic ally, and the law is not directed against Turkey. The French government urges to vote for this bill.”