Asbarez: UCLA Promise Armenian Institute to Host Garo Paylan

UCLA Promise Institute’s “Armenian Rebirth: The Last Plight” event flyer


LOS ANGELES—The Promise Armenian Institute at UCLA presents “Armenian Rebirth: The Last Plight,” an evening with Garo Paylan, a leading opposition voice and a human rights defender in Turkey. This event will take place on Tuesday, October 17 at 7 p.m. (Pacific Tim at UCLA Mong Learning Center (Engineering VI Building) and remotely via the Zoom Webinar platform and YouTube.

Paylan will address the recent blockade of the Lachin Corridor, the military attack by Azerbaijan and resulting ethnic cleansing of the entirety of Artsakh/Nagorno-Karabakh, ongoing acts of genocide, and potential steps moving forward.

Garo Paylan served in the Turkish parliament for eight years, from 2015 to June 2023, and is internationally recognized for his struggle for democracy and minority rights in Turkey, as well as his support for peace in the Caucasus.

Paylan was among the very few Armenians to be elected to the Turkish parliament and was the first lawmaker to submit an amendment for the recognition of the Armenian genocide in Turkey. He continued to highlight the need for Turkey to face this historic tragedy throughout the time he served in the parliament but was legally prosecuted for his amendments and statement.

Registration for this event is required and free. To register please visit the website. The evening will conclude with a small reception in the Engineering VI foyer.

This event is hosted by the Promise Armenian Institute at UCLA in partnership with the Center for Truth and Justice and co-sponsored by the Armenian Students’ Association at UCLA, The Promise Institute for Human Rights at UCLA School of Law, the UCLA Luskin Center for History and Policy, and the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research.

For more information, please contact The UCLA Promise Armenian Institute at [email protected] or visit The Institute’s website.

The Promise Armenian Institute was established at UCLA in late 2019 as a hub for world-class research and teaching on Armenian Studies and for coordinating Interdisciplinary Research and Public Impact Programs across UCLA, and with the Republic of Armenia and the Armenian Diaspora.

Center for Truth and Justice is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, established in November 2020 in response to the Nagorno-Karabakh war. CFTJ is a group of lawyers overseeing the collection of firsthand testimonial evidence from war survivors via in-depth, recorded interviews.