A HISTORIC MISTAKE HAS BEEN CORRECTED IN FRANCE

Paying an official visit to London, the capital of England,  Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis made a statement to the members of the press and evaluated the decision taken by French Constitutional Council against the recent bill that criminalizes the rejection of Armenian allegations regarding the 1915 events.

Minister Bagis said "What should have happened in France had happened. A historic mistake was avoided. Reason outcompeted unreason. It was announced to the whole world that French Constitutional Council pays attention to the values of the French revolution, French constitution and French republic." Emphasizing that the French jurisdiction gave a clear message to the ones who exploit even the law with the intention of election pressure in the election environment, Minister Bagis said:

"This is not a pleasing event for us but it is for France. Because France would not be able to live with this shame. As a member of the Parliament, I was already saddened by the fact that this bill came out from an assembly which represents the national will. Yet, by the same parliamentarians' signatures French Constitutional Council have put this bill on its agenda and annulled it on the parliamentarians' call. This demonstrated us once again that the rule of law is still effective in French."

Expressing his hopes for no more attempts to tarnish the deep-rooted friendship between Turkey and France, Bagis said "I hope that the French Constitutional Council's decision will be a wake-up call for some French politicians who are struggling with the wrong nightmares. I hope that they do what is necessary for friendship and peace, by reason." Minister Bagis also stated that, in terms of Turkish-Armenian relations, France has to put more effort in solving the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the Minsk group, in which France is the co-chairman.

Egemen Bagis indicated that no good would come from reminding 100 year old sorrows instead of mediating for peace. Pointing out that all countries should open up their archives concerning the 1915 period and that the historians had to discuss this issue, Bagis said:

"It would be wrong for historians to do politicians' job, and vica-versa. Everyone must do his own job, but even so politicians must receive the intended messages from historians' academic studies. Politicians' job must be not to designate the past but the future and to ensure people's prosperity in the future. Within this framework, I recommend French politicians to deal with today and tomorrow instead of the past."

Source: AA