French Turkish Politician Convicted of denying Armenian Genocide In France

"ISTANBUL (Hurriyet)–A French citizen of Turkish origin was sentenced to pay 1,500 euros after she sued a party official for discrimination regarding the official’s question on whether she recognized the Armenian Genocide. Sirma Oran was a candidate from the Green Party in France for local elections but removed herself from candidacy after Villeurbanne Mayor Jean-Paul Bret asked her whether she accepted as genocide the annihilation of 1.5 million Armenians at the hands of Ottoman Turkey. Oran, the daughter of Professor Baskin Oran, a liberal who campaigns in Turkey for reconciliation with Armenians, said then that the question was not asked to other candidates and that she was discriminated against because of her origin. Oran sued Bret for discrimination, in a case closely followed by the Turkish and Armenian communities in France. The court of Lyon recently rejected Oran’s plea and fined her 1,500 euros and another 350 euros for court expenses. “French law recognizes the genocide,” the court stated in its decision. “Bret has the right to ask this question to Sirma Oran.”