Armenian Genocide

On Monday, the French Senate is scheduled to debate and possibly vote on a bill that would criminalize denial of the Armenian genocide of 1915, along with any other events recognized as genocide in French law. The bill has passed the lower house of Parliament. The Senate should reject it, in the name of free speech, the freedom of historical inquiry and Article 11 of France's pathbreaking 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen ("The free communication of ideas and opinions is one of the most precious rights.…")

REPORTING FROM JERUSALEM -- Israeli lawmakers plan to discuss the possibility of setting a day to commemorate the Armenian genocide of 1915-18. But the initiative is causing tension ahead of the discussion, scheduled for Monday, because of concerns over the reaction by Turkey, which denies a genocide took place. Until now, similar commemoration proposals have been referred to parliamentary committees that meet behind closed doors. This will be the first time the subject will be discussed at a committee whose meetings are public.

Should people have the right to deny historical fact? The Times' editorial board thinks so, writing on Dec. 21 that a proposed law in France to criminalize denial of the Armenian genocide would be a "monstrous violation of free speech. " Reader Janet Gross of Los Angeles took issue with the editorial board's view that genocide denial is an opinion worthy of free-speech protection: "The right to the opinion that the Armenian genocide in 1915 perpetrated by the Turks never happened should be protected?

  Despite threats by Turkey and vocal opposition at home, French lawmakers approved a bill Thursday making it illegal to publicly deny that the Armenian genocide occurred. In retaliation, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan recalled his country's ambassador and said bilateral visits would be suspended and joint military operations with France canceled, Agence France-Presse news service reported. Earlier Thursday, thousands of people waving Turkish flags protested the impending vote outside the National Assembly in Paris.

The killing of more than a million Armenians by Ottoman Turks in 1915 was an act of genocide. The Holocaust was a fact. Yet Americans are free to deny the reality of either — or make outlandish assertions of all kinds — without facing punishment by the state. Residents of France will be denied that privilege if its parliament adopts a wrong-headed bill to criminalize denial of the Armenian genocide. On Thursday the lower house of France's parliament will debate a bill that would punish those who deny the genocide with a year in prison and a $58,000 fine.

The medieval illuminated manuscript known as the Zeyt'un Gospels was rumored to hold supernatural powers that would protect the Armenian people. Whether or not that's the case, the manuscript itself has eluded destruction. Created by the Armenian illuminator T'oros Roslin in 1256 for Constantine I, the head of the Armenian Orthodox Church's Holy See of the Great House of Cilicia, the book passed through unknown numbers of hands, survived the Armenian genocide and ended up in a museum of ancient manuscripts in Yerevan.

A planned parade by an Ottoman military marching band in Hollywood has been canceled because of objections by Armenian groups who said the event was an affront to victims of the 1915-1918 Armenian genocide. The genocide claimed the lives of about 1.2 million Armenians under the Ottoman Empire, which became the modern-day republic of Turkey. The Turkish government disputes that a genocide took place. The permit for the parade, scheduled for next Monday on Hollywood Boulevard, was pulled Wednesday, an official at the Los Angeles Police Commission said.

Leading the circus Re "Duck, it's The Donald!" Opinion, April 19 Why is it that every time I read an article on Donald Trump, I have visions of P.T. Barnum? It's bad enough that we are subjected to his ego-mercial "Celebrity Apprentice. " But now we have to listen to this twice-bankrupted celebrity wannabe, who inherited part of his fortune from his father, tell us of his business acumen. Do we have to tolerate his bid for attention as he continuously questions the birthplace of our president, a scheme logic would dictate required an enormous conspiracy on all levels that started more than 40 years ago?

The line between prudence and moral cowardice can be a fine one, particularly when it comes to the conduct of diplomacy. For Americans, the question of where and how to make such distinctions has a particular urgency this week, as we commemorate the 96th anniversary of the genocide inflicted on the Armenians by the Ottoman Turks. In massacres from 1915 to 1923, more than 1.5 million Armenians were killed and eastern Anatolia was ethnically cleansed of a people whose presence there extended back to antiquity.

It's only a sign. But the large green message board unveiled next to the Pomona Freeway packed an emotional punch for those gathered Friday in Montebello. "Armenian Genocide Martyrs Monument Next Exit," it reads. A pair of the directional signs, authorized by the state Legislature, point the way to a memorial tower above Garfield Avenue that commemorates the attempt a century ago to eliminate Armenians from the Ottoman Empire. People of Armenian descent from throughout Los Angeles gathered beneath the tower to thank state officials for recognizing their history — and for perhaps leading the way to what they hope is wider acknowledgement of the massacre of 1.5 million people.