AZERI PRESIDENT MET WITH ANGRY ARMENIAN PROTESTERS IN GREECE
PanARMENIAN.Net
19.02.2009 17:34 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and his delegation
were met with angry Armenian protesters when they arrived at the
Greek Chamber of Commerce for a meeting of Azeri and Greek business
leaders, in the presence of Greek President Carlos Papoulias and
Prime Minister Karamanlis.
The Armenian community of Greece heeded the call from the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation Youth Organization and, in droves, gathered at
the venue an hour before the scheduled meeting by the Azeri president.
With Armenian tri-colors and the Karabakh flags waving, a large banner
that read "Aliyev, Stop the Aggression. Nagorno Karabakh is Already
Independent," the crowd chanted "Karabakh is Armenian," catching the
Aliyev off guard as he exited his vehicle, the ARF Dashnaktsutyun
youth union’s Greek office told PanARMENIAN.Net,
The Armenian community of Greece, especially the youth, had gathered to
raise their voices in unison against the visit of the Azeri president
to Greece.
Aliyev’s Azeri security team was very aggressive toward the protesters
and pushed the Azad Or editor and Armenian photographers back and
stopped them, as representatives of the press, from entering the
building. The Greek police also held back protesters, who refused to
move from their positions.
Soon thereafter, President Papoulias arrived and was greeted by
cheers from the protesters, who stayed put until the conclusion of
the conference and Aliyev’s quick exit from the venue, where the
protesters continued their protest slogans.
During the meeting, Aliyev reiterated his anti-Armenian rhetoric,
saying that "Armenia has invaded and is occupying Azeri lands."