Author target of Turkish threats following Armenian Genocide book
reading
armradio.am
20.10.2007 11:01
Amid security concerns and ongoing Turkish death-threats, author
Margaret Ajemian Ahnert led the Fort Lauderdale book reading of her
Armenian Genocide family memoir, "The Knock at the Door," reported the
Armenian National Committee (ANC) of South Florida. Over 80 people
attended the event hosted by the Broward County Main Library, sponsored
by the Florida Center for the Book.
The subject of the book, a skillful retelling of her mother’s traumatic
battle to survive as a young girl during the Armenian Genocide, comes
at a crucial time when the United States House of Representatives is
set to vote on H.Res. 106, calling upon the President to ensure that
the foreign policy of the United States reflects appropriate
understanding and sensitivity concerning issues related to human
rights, ethnic cleansing, and genocide documented in the United States
record relating to the Armenian Genocide.
Among the audience were the influential members of the Writers Network,
and civic leaders from South Florida. Despite a high turnout, "I was
uncomfortable from the threats I received from angry Turks," said Ms.
Ahnert. To assure the safety of the public, the Fort Lauderdale Police
Department (FLPD) provided security for the night.
"Turkish death threats to Ms. Ahnert are an insult to American values
upon which our country was founded. The threats demonstrate the
incompatibility of Turkish nationalism and the first amendment of the
US constitution; the freedom of speech and to assemble," said Albert
Mazmanian, chairman of the ANC of South Florida.
During the Q&A session, a Turkish-American from the audience asked
Ahnert, "if you want to remember something, why do you remember the bad
things," citing Seljuk liberation of the Armenian Church from the
Byzantines. Ahnert rebutted that fifteen of the sixteen chapters of her
book are "happy memories," and only one chapter is a "bad memory."