– Cites Shameful Record of Official U.S. Silence on Threats to Hrant Dink.
Washington, DC – The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) has called upon U.S. Ambassador to Turkey John Bass to publicly voice official U.S. concern regarding the safety of Garo Paylan, an ethnic Armenian elected to the Turkish Parliament, who has faced growing threats and acts of violence in response to his expression of views on democracy, human rights, and genocide.
In recent days, Paylan has been threatened and physically and assaulted within the Turkish Parliament and the Constitution Commission. Videos of these attacks have gone viral.
Paylan called the most recent attacks which took place during the May 2nd Turkish Parliament Constitution Commission hearing a “pre-meditated lynch attempt.” In a statement issued to the press following the altercation, Paylan explained that “AKP’s Istanbul MP Mehmet Metiner physically attacked me which initiated a planned lynch. Physical attacks increasingly continued and AKP’s MPs pointed out and targeted me by calling out as ‘Come over, Garo is here!’ and making remarks that amount to hate speech about my Armenian identity.“ Paylan posted video from the attack on his Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/gpaylan/videos/998297526926830/?pnref=story
NBC news covered the May 2nd attack here:
http://www.nbcnews.com/video/chaos-in-turkish-parliament-as-fist-fights-erupt-678103619630?cid=sm_fb
In the May 3rd letter to Ambassador Bass, Executive Director Aram Hamparian recalled that, despite ANCA appeals, the U.S. government failed to voice any public concern for the safety of Hrant Dink, who was assassinated in early 2007 following a campaign of political prosecution and official state persecution. “Sadly, none was forthcoming,” Hamparian explained. “The only public words raised in his defense were those eulogizing him after his death.”
To follow Ambassador Bass and the work of the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, visit:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/usdos.turkey
Twitter: https://twitter.com/USEmbassyTurkey
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