European Parliament host Denial and Democracy conference

Ararat News-Publishing (ANP) – Fiona Lorin / Roni Alasor, Brussels – 30 / 9/ 2009 – The European Parliament in Brussels will host a conference on "Denial and Democracy in Europe" on 6 October 2009. The conference is organized by the European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy (EAFJD), in association with the Centre Communautaire Laïc Juif (Jewish Laic Community Centre) and IBUKA Mémoire & Justice (Ibuka Memory and Justice Association) and with the support and patronage of Elmar Brok, (Christian Democrat, Germany).

Main starting point of the discussions on the conference will be the Framework Decision against Racism and Xenophobia adopted by the European Council in December 2008. Article 1 of the Framework Decision prohibits genocide denial in the EU and each EU Member States should incorporate the provisions of this Framework Decision into their national legislations by 2010.

The conference will host political personalities, historians, experts, human rights workers, philosophers and others on the topic of genocide denial in Europe. Among the speakers invited to the conference will be Mr Ralph Giordano, a Jewish journalist and essayist, Professor Yves Ternon, one of the main French historian specialized on the 20th century genocides, Professor Mihran Dabag, founder and director of Institute for Diaspora and Genocide Studies in Bochum (Germany).