Armenians of U.S. Protest against Turkish Defense Minister
28.03.2006
YEREVAN (YERKIR) - The Armenian Youth Federation (AYF) led a demonstration of over 2,000 Armenian Americans today outside the Beverly Hills Hotel during a speech given by Turkish Defense Minister Vecdi Gönül, a key figure in the Turkish state’s campaign to deny the Armenian Genocide, reported the Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region (ANCA-WR).
Among the thousands of participants in today’s protest were Congressman Brad Sherman (CA-27) and Burbank Board of Education President Paul Krekorian. [...].
[...]
“It is not only those with Armenian heritage who demand that the truth be recognized. Friends of Turkey should demonstrate that Turkey accept the Armenian Genocide,” said Congressman Sherman in his remarks to the crowd.
“Where will Turkey be among the family of nations if it does not recognize the truth? I will work in Congress every day until the historical truth of the Armenian Genocide is recognized,” he concluded. Congressman Sherman also commented on Turkey’s failure to provide access to US military bases in Turkey and necessary passage over its land and air space during the invasion of Iraq three years ago.
[...]. In his remarks at the luncheon, the Defense Minister addressed the issue of Turkey’s actions during the run-up to the Iraq War.
He directly contradicted the position of his American counterpart, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, who has repeatedly said on national television that Turkey’s refusal to allow US-led coalition forces to open a northern front has significantly contributed to the strength of the Iraqi insurgency. “Turkey has supported the US led war on Iraq from the beginning,” said the Defense Minister.
He added that “Turkey promotes good neighborly relations.” This assertion also stands in sharp contrast to the actions of the Turkish government, which, on one hand, blockades and seeks to isolate Armenia, and on the other, denies the Armenian Genocide and continues to harvest the economic, demographic, and geopolitical fruits of the genocidal crime it committed against the Armenian nation nine decades ago.
[...]
California, which is one of 38 states to have recognized the Armenian Genocide, last year adopted legislation permanently designating the week of April 24 as California’s week of remembrance of the Armenian Genocide. The effort to enact legislation on the Armenian Genocide was led by state legislators such as Senators Chuck Poochigian (R-Fresno) and Jackie Speier (D-San Francisco), and signed into law by Governor Schwarzenegger in 2005.
California has also adopted an education curriculum that includes teaching of the history of the Armenian Genocide, and the Los Angeles Unified School District is among many public school systems in the state that continue to train its teachers on implementing a curriculum that teaches about this crime against humanity.
Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.
YEREVAN (YERKIR) - The Armenian Youth Federation (AYF) led a demonstration of over 2,000 Armenian Americans today outside the Beverly Hills Hotel during a speech given by Turkish Defense Minister Vecdi Gönül, a key figure in the Turkish state’s campaign to deny the Armenian Genocide, reported the Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region (ANCA-WR).
Among the thousands of participants in today’s protest were Congressman Brad Sherman (CA-27) and Burbank Board of Education President Paul Krekorian. [...].
[...]
“It is not only those with Armenian heritage who demand that the truth be recognized. Friends of Turkey should demonstrate that Turkey accept the Armenian Genocide,” said Congressman Sherman in his remarks to the crowd.
“Where will Turkey be among the family of nations if it does not recognize the truth? I will work in Congress every day until the historical truth of the Armenian Genocide is recognized,” he concluded. Congressman Sherman also commented on Turkey’s failure to provide access to US military bases in Turkey and necessary passage over its land and air space during the invasion of Iraq three years ago.
[...]. In his remarks at the luncheon, the Defense Minister addressed the issue of Turkey’s actions during the run-up to the Iraq War.
He directly contradicted the position of his American counterpart, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, who has repeatedly said on national television that Turkey’s refusal to allow US-led coalition forces to open a northern front has significantly contributed to the strength of the Iraqi insurgency. “Turkey has supported the US led war on Iraq from the beginning,” said the Defense Minister.
He added that “Turkey promotes good neighborly relations.” This assertion also stands in sharp contrast to the actions of the Turkish government, which, on one hand, blockades and seeks to isolate Armenia, and on the other, denies the Armenian Genocide and continues to harvest the economic, demographic, and geopolitical fruits of the genocidal crime it committed against the Armenian nation nine decades ago.
[...]
California, which is one of 38 states to have recognized the Armenian Genocide, last year adopted legislation permanently designating the week of April 24 as California’s week of remembrance of the Armenian Genocide. The effort to enact legislation on the Armenian Genocide was led by state legislators such as Senators Chuck Poochigian (R-Fresno) and Jackie Speier (D-San Francisco), and signed into law by Governor Schwarzenegger in 2005.
California has also adopted an education curriculum that includes teaching of the history of the Armenian Genocide, and the Los Angeles Unified School District is among many public school systems in the state that continue to train its teachers on implementing a curriculum that teaches about this crime against humanity.
Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.
posted by Vahe Balabanian at 8:49 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home