Article 136 of the Armenian Criminal Code already envisages heavy fines and up to five years’ imprisonment for anyone who denies or justifies a genocide “with the aim of inciting hatred, discrimination or violence against a person or group of persons.” Amendments proposed by Hayastan call for a longer prison sentence and specify that the clause applies to the Armenian genocide and other genocides recognized by Armenia. The amendments would also criminalize public approvals of statements denying or questioning them.
“Singling out the Armenian genocide is very important for Armenia,” Artsvik Minasian, a senior Hayastan parliamentarian, said on Wednesday as he presented the bill to the parliament committee on state and legal affairs.
When asked by pro-government members of the committee to explain the wisdom for such changes, Minasian pointed to Pashinian’s remarks made during a visit to Switzerland in January this year.
Pashinian declared that Armenians should “understand what happened” in 1915 and what prompted the subsequent campaign for international recognition of the slaughter of some 1.5 million Armenians as genocide. He seemed to imply that foreign powers, notably the Soviet Union, were behind that campaign.
Armenian historians, opposition figures and retired diplomats expressed outrage at the remarks, saying that Pashinian cast doubt on the fact of the genocide officially recognized by over three dozen countries, including the United Staes. Some of them claimed that this is part of his efforts to cozy up to Turkey, which continues to deny a deliberate government effort to exterminate the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire.
Pashinian dismissed the strong criticism. Responding to Minasian, members of his Civil Contract party sitting on the parliament committee likewise insisted on Wednesday that his comments did not amount to genocide denial.
Vladimir Vartanian, the pro-government chairman of the committee, said the existing article of the Criminal Code does not need to undergo any changes. Accordingly, the panel controlled by Civil Contract lawmakers gave a negative assessment of the Hayastan bill. The Armenian government also spoke out against its passage in a written opinion submitted to the National Assembly.
Nevertheless, Minasian said that the opposition bloc led by former President Robert Kocharian will force a debate on the bill on the parliament floor.
Hayastan already tried unsuccessfully to push similar legislation through the parliament in April. The initiative sparked a brawl between pro-government and opposition deputies.
Pashinian caused further uproar in March this year when he made clear that his government will not strive to get more countries and international bodies to recognize the Armenian genocide. He claimed that relevant resolutions already adopted by many foreign parliaments undermine stability in the region. The premier implied last week that Armenia has gained nothing from them.