AZERI GROUP PICKETS FRENCH EMBASSY

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Oct 16 2006

The hard-line Garabagh Liberation Organization (GLO) picketed the
embassy of France in Azerbaijan on Monday against Thursday’s decision
of the country’s National Assembly to enforce criminal prosecution
for denying the so-called "genocide of Armenians".

Armenians say Ottoman Turks killed 1.5 million people in 1915,
a claim strongly denied by Turkey.

After submitting a resolution to the embassy, the protesters started to
throw eggs, tomatoes and eggplants at the building in protest at the
decision of the French parliament’s lower chamber. 18 picketers were
detained and taken to a police precinct. All but three protesters
were released shortly afterwards. Two of the picket participants
were injured.

The protesters demanded to immediately repeal the "genocide" law, to
close down the French embassy and to estrange France from brokering
settlement to the Armenia-Azerbaijan Upper (Nagrono) Garabagh conflict
within the OSCE Minsk Group (MG) also co-chaired by Russia and the
United States.