Jean Portante on memorial laws

The writer from Luxembourg, Jean Portante, considers the adoption in France of a law condemning the denial of the Armenian genocide. "The situation bares a strange resemblance to that of the debate around the advantages of French colonisation where many voices in France were raised to condemn the political world accused of rewriting French History through law when such a task should befall historians. ... This is rather the sentiment that spread over Turkey last week, where intellectuals are far from falling victim to blinkered thinking regarding the matter. Little by little, renowned historians and writers are trying to convince the country that there is a lot to be gained from unveiling a dark page of their history that occurred just before the birth of the Republic. The initiative of French members of Parliament bothers them, in so far as the risk is being run that consideration be replaced by emotion rather than reason."

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