The Turkish Parliament Justice Sub-committee launched studies about a law proposal that would make it a crime to deny that France committed genocide in Algeria.

Members of the committee listened to Turkish History Society President Professor Yusuf Halacoglu and officials from the foreign ministry in their first meeting yesterday.

Professor Halacoglu provided historical information to the committee about Armenian violence in Turkey.

Halacoglu claimed that Armenians were freer than Turks during Ottoman times, recalling that Armenian citizens did not have to perform compulsory military service until 1876.

The commission will reportedly not accept the proposal that would make it a crime to deny that France committed genocide in Algeria.

Instead of enacting the law, the Turkish Parliament will prepare a text in which Turkey's practices in the field of human rights and freedoms will be explained.

The commission members decided that the Turkish History Society and the Foreign Ministry should conduct a detailed study on the Armenian genocide allegations.

The history of countries that officially recognize an Armenian genocide will also be examined in this context to see whether such cases occurred in their own past.

The study will explain the circumstances under which Turkey decided to deport Armenians in 1915.

The commission members will discuss reports to come from the Turkish History Society and Foreign Ministry in their second meeting.