The Great Treachery of Nicolas Sarkozy

Paris, July 18, 2011

Mr. President
As such, breaches can be more or less serious. But because they relate to a whole people, some of them border on betrayal to ethics and to moral code.

"Get indignant!" says a book to protest against all forms of injustice. Well yes, as a French of Armenian origin by my father, a genocide survivor, a veteran of WWII, I am outraged and I think, your other fellow citizens of the same origin, "so well integrated,"  as our representatives on the benches of the Assembly and Senate like to repeat, are also outraged when they learn, by diplomatic "leakage" revealed by Wikileaks, that the President of the French Republic, after having promised to support the Armenian community in France in its struggle against denial, had suddenly retracted. I quote you:

"I fully share your desire that France opposes to the denial of State, to a propaganda that bruises you, a shameful propaganda. And France must not only condemn the denial by the law, but never accept any state propaganda.

It is the role of the Parliament, of the representants of the nation, to give our laws to the country. It is up to the Parliament to draw the line between what is acceptable and what is not. And as such, it can decide that denying a genocide is crossing that line. Beyond the insult to the memory of the victims and to their relatives, denying is an infringement for the entire society. Freedom of expression does not mean freedom for manipulating history or denying obvious historical facts.

Even if the reality of genocide is undeniable, I am all for individual freedom of expression of individuals, freedom of thought for historians and researchers. On the other hand, I do not accept that the Armenians of France are threatened or prevented from denouncing genocide denial in France." […]

That was written in a letter that you adressed on April 24, 2007, the day of commemoration of the Genocide, to the president of the Armenian Organisations of France before your investiture, Mr President. Some weeks later, on May 16, 2007 your emissary and diplomatic advisor, Jean-David Levitte, hastened to reassure Turkey in your behalf.  

Thus, they were some 500 000 French of armenian origin who felt quite rightly betrayed. Thus a foreign government could influence the policy of France… This would be expected to be believed when in the interior of the Senate, Egeman Bagis, Turkish Minister of European Affairs, allowed himself, April 7, 2011, to warn the senators on the issue.

Getting into the debate Charles Aznavour, particularly moderate when it comes to claiming for the community into the debate, shows that too much is too much. For him to state that he will be followed in the future with our votes, if inadvertently the law would not pass the Senate due to President's "recommendation" means that the phenomenon of Turkish denial has reached a climax, threatening the public policy. A strong signal.

Do not you think, Mr. President, that that is enough to justify the vote of a law penalizing the act of denying the Armenian genocide. Will we wait for truly grave incidents to do so? You do not believe it? Ask Senator Bernard Piras how he has been threatened with death and intimidated for his children! On social networks of the web, Turkish extremists not only deny the Armenian genocide, but insult and swear at the victims and the descendants of this crime against humanity. Yes, it is time to put an end to hatred and incitement and it is time for making the accounts.

"Mr. President, I give you this letter, that maybe you will read if you have time. " The French of Armenian origin do not have vocation to appear as victims forever in front of violence. On the eve of the 96th commemoration of the Armenian Genocide and on the eve of setting the law penalizing denying of Armenian Genocide voted by the National Assembly in 2006 into the agenda of the Senate, reconsider your disengagement and keep your promise.

Please accept, Mr. President, the assurance of my high consideration

Jean Eckian
Nouvelles d'Arménie Magazine

Armenian community of France has recorded more than 40 events of the Armenian genocide denial (violence, threats, intimidation, memorials desecrated, publications denier, denialist statements, Turkish nationalist demonstrations, students of Turkish origin deny genocide in colleges...), more insults to the memory of the victims in 50 groups on Face Book and also on You Tube.

Jean Eckian is a freelance journalist, photographer and former producer for CBS and EMI Records, co-organizer with Charles Aznavour and Levon Sayan of the song "Pour toi Armenie" (For you Armenia) and presenter on French Radio MFM and Radio Armenie. In

1970, he recorded in France the first disc of Mogollar, an Pop-Rock turkish group, become after celebrates in Turkey. He is also originator of the Armenian Memorial on Internet InHomage.com