Tweet
ARMENIAN AMERICANS URGE HILLARY CLINTON TO END ARREST OF PUBLISHER RAGIP ZARAKOLU
ARMENPRESS
November 15, 2011
YEREVAN
Armenian Americans have joined with free speech and human rights
advocates in calling upon Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to
end more than two weeks of official silence regarding the Turkish
government's October 28th arrest of long-persecuted publisher Ragip
Zarakolu.
"Ragip Zarakolu has - for no reason other than his commitment to
freedom of speech - been dragged, once again, to rot in a Turkish
prison - without a single word of protest from the U.S. State
Department," said Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the ANCA.
"This is a disgrace. The leaders of the Obama Administration - who
have, by now, made it painfully clear that they lack the courage to
honor their own commitments to speak out honestly about the Armenian
Genocide - appear, now, also unwilling to even speak up when those,
like Ragip Zarakolu, demonstrate the audacity to stand up for the
truth in the face of threats of prosecution and persecution."
Mr. Zarakolu, the owner of the Belge Publishing House, was rounded up
as part of a politically motivated series of arrests of largely Kurdish
political and human rights leaders. He has, among his many titles,
published a series of books on the Armenian Genocide - actions that
have made him and his family the target of prolonged prosecutions
and incarcerations over many years.
Despite public protest by rights groups including Human Rights Watch
and PEN International, the U.S. State Department has remained silent
in response to the Zarakolu arrest. When asked a direct question by
H1 Television correspondent Haykaram Nahapetyan regarding the State
Department's position on the issue, the Spokesman's office dodged the
question, and simply reported: "The United States is a strong defender
of freedom of expression in Turkey and in all countries around the
world. We do not want to comment at this time on specific cases before
the courts. We urge that the prosecution proceed transparently, and
that all defendants be assured due process and a fair hearing in a
timely manner."
ARMENPRESS
November 15, 2011
YEREVAN
Armenian Americans have joined with free speech and human rights
advocates in calling upon Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to
end more than two weeks of official silence regarding the Turkish
government's October 28th arrest of long-persecuted publisher Ragip
Zarakolu.
"Ragip Zarakolu has - for no reason other than his commitment to
freedom of speech - been dragged, once again, to rot in a Turkish
prison - without a single word of protest from the U.S. State
Department," said Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the ANCA.
"This is a disgrace. The leaders of the Obama Administration - who
have, by now, made it painfully clear that they lack the courage to
honor their own commitments to speak out honestly about the Armenian
Genocide - appear, now, also unwilling to even speak up when those,
like Ragip Zarakolu, demonstrate the audacity to stand up for the
truth in the face of threats of prosecution and persecution."
Mr. Zarakolu, the owner of the Belge Publishing House, was rounded up
as part of a politically motivated series of arrests of largely Kurdish
political and human rights leaders. He has, among his many titles,
published a series of books on the Armenian Genocide - actions that
have made him and his family the target of prolonged prosecutions
and incarcerations over many years.
Despite public protest by rights groups including Human Rights Watch
and PEN International, the U.S. State Department has remained silent
in response to the Zarakolu arrest. When asked a direct question by
H1 Television correspondent Haykaram Nahapetyan regarding the State
Department's position on the issue, the Spokesman's office dodged the
question, and simply reported: "The United States is a strong defender
of freedom of expression in Turkey and in all countries around the
world. We do not want to comment at this time on specific cases before
the courts. We urge that the prosecution proceed transparently, and
that all defendants be assured due process and a fair hearing in a
timely manner."