Armenian News-NEWS.am presents the interview of the author of the bill criminalizing denial of genocides, Union for Popular Movement (UMP) MP Valerie Boyer published in Nouvelles d’Arménie.

Were you satisfied with the Jan. 23 events covered by media?

I saw nothing special. It proves the press shows no particular interest in the topic. The only thing it was interested in was to speak against.

Could you disclose motives of MPs who appealed to the Constitutional Council?

I can guess the Senate’s motive as Secretary General of the Government expects a response. I have no other information.

What shocked you most in this demarche?

We have been dealing with the issue for over ten years, and I am shocked that such an appeal was made for the Constitutional Council. We deal with state values: freedom, fraternity and equality and we decided to vote for the bill criminalizing the denial. I do not understand that on behalf of the equality we would be blocked with unequal attitude towards victims of genocides during principles of humanism. France is a big state to make all the institutes function. I do not blame anyone and yet, I believe that the Council will approve our approach.

What will happen if the Council rejects the bill?

We will start over.

Did you manage to talk to the French President Nikolas Sarkozy after the appeal to the Council?

Not directly, but I believe that the Secretariat General expects a response by the Council. It should review the bill on its essence and form. I think the constitutional judges will approach the issue from the right angle and not from the standpoint of a false debate about the memorial laws, which the National assembly held. However, I am afraid that the Council may be terribly pressed.

What can you tell hypothetically if the 2011 law and 2012 bill were rejected?

In that case we would have dealt with an unequal treatment and sued to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). It is just impossible.