{"id":7855,"date":"2016-03-31T11:13:42","date_gmt":"2016-03-31T11:13:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ancnews.info\/?p=7855"},"modified":"2016-03-31T11:13:42","modified_gmt":"2016-03-31T11:13:42","slug":"anc-greater-washington-broad-coalition-of-ethnic-and-rights-groups-protest-turkish-president-erdogans-washington-dc-visit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ancnews.info\/?p=7855","title":{"rendered":"ANC-Greater Washington; Broad Coalition of Ethnic and Rights Groups Protest Turkish President Erdogan\u2019s Washington DC Visit"},"content":{"rendered":"

Turkish President\u2019s Security Team and Supporters Attack Journalists; Create Chaos During 3-Hour Demonstration<\/strong><\/p>\n

WASHINGTON, DC \u2013 A diverse group of Armenians, Kurds, Greeks, Cypriots, Yezidis, human rights groups and even various opposition Turkish political factions protested Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan\u2019s repression at home and aggression abroad in a heated demonstration which forced the closure of one of Washington, DC\u2019s busiest streets for over an hour, reported the Armenian National Committee of Greater Washington<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Holding banners calling out Turkey\u2019s ongoing Armenian genocide denial, crackdown on the country\u2019s Kurdish community, and support for ISIS forces in Syria \u2013 protesters spotlighted Turkey\u2019s democratic decline under President Erdogan\u2019s rule, a view gaining increased support in Washington\u2019s political circles in the days leading up to his U.S. visit. Among the protesters\u2019 chants was: \u201cLong live Kurdistan; long live Armenia.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pro-Turkish government counter-protesters wearing \u201cWe love Erdogan\u201d T-shirts and holding \u201cWe Heart Erdogan\u201d signs chanted their praise for the dictator. Erdogan security personnel were seen attacking protesters and needed to be subdued by Washington DC police. At least one Turkish reporter was pushed and another forced to the ground and beaten by Erdogan\u2019s security team. Another reporter was forced out of Brookings Institution venue, prior to Erdogan\u2019s arrival. Turkish journalists tweeted the surreal circumstances of the protest throughout.<\/p>\n

The National Press Club (NPC) was quick to condemn the press crackdown, with NPC President Thomas Burr stating that the Turkish leader\u2019s team \u201chave no right to lay their hands on reporters or protesters or anyone else for that matter, when the people they were apparently roughing up seemed to be merely doing their jobs or exercising the rights they have in this country.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ANCA Eastern Region\u2019s<\/a> Armen Sahakyan commented that \u201cWe were pleased that so many Washington area Armenians joined today with our Kurdish and Greek friends and our allies in the human rights community in a strong show of solidarity against Recep Erdogan\u2019s repression at home and aggression abroad. While it was encouraging to see such powerful American civil society opposition to Turkey\u2019s increasingly violent rule, it was, at the same, deeply troubling to witness Erdogan\u2019s security detail attacking journalists, effectively exporting Turkey\u2019s intolerance to the U.S. capital.\u201d<\/p>\n

President Erdogan is one of 50 world leaders in Washington, DC this week, attending the nuclear energy summit. President Obama refused a one-on-one meeting with Erdogan, a fact which apparently prompted a three-hour rant by the Turkish leader at a Foreign Policy Association dinner on the eve of today\u2019s speech at the Brookings Institution. Vice-President Biden was scheduled to meet with the Turkish leader today.<\/p>\n

Images from the protest are available on the ANCA Facebook page<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Photo: Image from the March 31st anti-Erdogan protest in front of the Brookings Institution in Washington DC. Photo by Justin Kaladjian.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Hamparian: Erdogan Must be Held to Account for the Crimes of 1915 & 2016 <\/strong><\/p>\n

The ANCA<\/a>‘s Aram Suren Hamparian speaks to Voice of America – VOA about the broad coalition of Armenian, Kurdish, Greek, Cypriot, Yezidi and human rights organizations protesting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s repression at home and aggression abroad, and the need for justice for Turkey’s crimes of the past and present in this interview held during protest in front of the The Brookings Institution earlier today.<\/p>\n