ARMENIANS OF U.S. PROTEST AGAINST TURKISH DEFENSE MINISTER

PanARMENIAN.Net
27.03.2006 23:33 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ 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 Gonul, 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. Before inviting Congressman
Sherman to speak, ANCA-WR Board of Directors member Raffi Hamparian
underscored the failure of the US State Department to live up to
American values. “At the same time that the US government is condemning
Belarus for suppressing freedom of expression, the US State Department
is preparing to fire our Ambassador to Armenia for simply telling the
truth about the Armenian Genocide,” said Hamparian. “Congressman Brad
Sherman is not only a friend of the Armenian American community,
he is an ally and a champion of justice and human rights,” said
Hamparian in welcoming Congressman Sherman.

“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. “The
casualties stemming from today’s conflict in Iraq are, to some extent,
a direct result of Turkey’s refusal to allow the US-led coalition to
open a northern front,” said Congressman Sherman. 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.

“Defense Minister Gonul’s remarks are consistent with his government’s
campaign to portray a rosy image of itself – despite the facts on
the ground.

Increasingly, however, the American public is seeing through these
transparent efforts, and looking instead to Turkey’s actual conduct –
such as its blockade of Armenia, abysmal human rights record, attempts
to revise history, and, more broadly, its increasingly antagonistic
relationship with the United States,” said Hamparian after listening
to the Defense Minister’s speech.

Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul’s visit to Southern California, home
to the largest Armenian population in the US, came exactly one month
prior to the 91st anniversary of the Armenian Genocide on April 24th.

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.