History should be left to historians, Jagland

STRASBOURG - Anatolia News Agency

‘Politicians should not discuss history,’ says Jagland with regard to a French vote on Armenian genocide allegations when he meets Turkish Deputy PM Arınç. AA photo

People should leave history to historians, Council of Europe Secretary-General Thorbjorn Jagland has said in regard to a French vote on Armenian genocide allegations.

“Politicians should not discuss history,” said Jagland, who met Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç in Strasbourg yesterday before they inaugurated a photo exhibition on Somalia. Touching on the rising hatred and xenophobia in Europe, Jagland said, “It is our duty to fight against these elements.” The French Senate was voting yesterday on a bill that would penalize denial of the Armenian allegations.
Meanwhile, Arınç said Ankara could ask Europe’s top rights court to denounce Paris if French senators pass a bill to outlaw denial of the genocide allegations. “This would be a historic shame,” Bulent Arınç told a press conference at the Council of Europe, based in the French city of Strasbourg. “We could go to the European Court of Human Rights if it becomes necessary,” he said, adding that the French bill was a “threat to freedom of expression” and breached the European Convention of Human Rights.