PROTESTING THE PROTOCOLS
By Melanie Hicken
Glendale News Press
October 7, 2009 7:21 PM PDT
Stop The Protocols supporters chained themselves together and placed
tape on their mouths during hunger strike across the street from the
Armenian Consulate on Glenoaks Blvd. at Central Ave. in Glendale on
Wednesday. The group of about 32 protestors began their vigil Monday
night and will be there until Friday night. (Raul Roa/News-Press)
Activists want Turkey to recognize the 1915 genocide before signing
papers.
GLENDALE — As lunchtime neared Wednesday, 17-year-old Vana Aprahamian
hadn’t consumed anything but water for 35 hours. Her fast would
continue until Friday at midnight.
"I think the first day was the most difficult day," she said, speaking
barely above a whisper to save energy. "You don’t feel hungry any
more. You just feel weak."
Aprahamian is one of 32 protesters taking part in a 96-hour hunger
strike on Glenoaks Boulevard across from the Armenian Consulate to
protest protocols for new official talks between Armenia and Turkey.
The talks are a part of a "road map" agreed upon last spring for
normalizing diplomatic relations between Turkey and Armenia and
opening their shared border. The proposed deal still must receive
Parliamentary approval from both countries.
The two countries have long clashed over the mass killings of
Armenians in 1915 at the hands of the Ottoman Empire. Turkey refuses
to categorize the deaths as genocide and has strongly fought against
any formal recognition of the massacres.
The Armenian Youth Federation and members of the Stop the Protocols
campaign organized the strike to send a message to the leadership of
Armenia to not take part in the talks. In recent weeks, thousands
of Armenians have gathered in massive rallies, including one in
Pelanconi Park.
Protesters said they were most enraged about the proposed formation
of a historical commission to look into the validity of the Armenian
Genocide.
"If the protocols get signe e Armenian Genocide into question," said
24-year-old Berj Parseghian, a co-organizer of the strike. "And that
is not acceptable."
While the mass killings occurred in 1915, Parseghian said the youngest
generation of Armenians still feel personally affected by the genocide.
"We’ve seen our grandparents’ pain," he said.
Close to noon Wednesday, many of the hunger strikers huddled together
on a bright blue tarp covered in blankets. The hunger, they said,
left them exhausted and not wanting to move. Many clutched water
bottles in compliance with a doctor’s recommendation that all strikers
consume two liters of water a day.
"Everyone is really in slow motion right now," Parseghian said.
When not resting, the strikers assembled at various corners of the
intersection of Glenoaks Boulevard and Central Avenue standing in
front of large banners that read "hunger strike" as Armenian flags
waved to honking cars.
Every two hours they assembled in various demonstrations for passing
cars and pedestrians. They chained themselves together and donned
red tape on their mouths for a silent demonstration.
Co-organizer Patil Aslanian, 21, said the outpouring of support from
the community had kept them going.
Hundreds of people came out Tuesday night for a rally, and so
far dozens of people have stopped by at various times to provide
encouragement, she said. And other young people have joined the strike
as part-time strikers who will fast for at least 48 hours.
"The numbers keep growing and growing," she said. "The community is
really heated about the issue."