Turkish Foreign Ministry yesterday issued a statement following the French Senate’s adoption of the bill criminalizing the denial of 1915 killings of Armenians as genocide.

The statement indicates, “We strongly condemn this decision, which is problematic in every aspect and constitutes an example of irresponsibility, and declare that we will express our reaction against it in every platform,” adding, “This has been an entirely unfortunate step for French politics. Politicization of the understanding of justice and history through other people’s past and damaging freedom of expression in a tactless manner are first and foremost a loss for France. It is obvious that the interpretation of historical events cannot be determined by the attitude of French politicians who see in themselves the right to judge other nations on the basis of one-sided views and declare a judgment on a serious allegation of crime such as genocide, thereby ignoring the principles of international law. In fact, no Parliament has such a right nor such a competence. The decision in question goes further and delivers a blow against the freedom of expression and scholarly research. At a period when we need positive examples for the dissemination of universal values throughout the world, it is disconcerting to see narrow political calculations producing such a result even in a country which plays a role in the advancement of such values and which takes pride in rule of law.”