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CONTROVERSIAL HOLLYWOOD TURKISH PARADE CANCELED
ArmeniaDiaspora.com
Sept 30 2011
SCPR.ORG -- A controversial Hollywood parade featuring the Ottoman
Military Marching Band was canceled Wednesday after objections from
the Armenian community, but event organizers said the cancellation
was purely practical.
"We had some logistical issues with the band members trying to make it
here on time," said Hafsa Rai, spokeswoman for the Pacifica Institute,
which canceled the event.
Rai cites paperwork, plane tickets, insurance and other issues as the
real reason the parade was canceled. The entire 35-person marching
band had to be flown out together from Turkey to the U.S., and the
necessary paperwork would not be completed in time, Rai said. She
said that there was a visa issue, as they'd tried to have the visa
approved with expedited processing, but the visa office asked for
more information.
The Armenian Youth Federation and Armenian National Committee called
Monday's planned Hollywood Boulevard parade by an Ottoman military
marching bank an affront to victims of Turkey's 1915-1918 genocide
of Armenians.
"They're obviously not aware of these sensitivities and facts so we
are stuck in this position where we have to voice our opposition,"
said Serouj Aprahamian, the executive director of the Armenian Youth
Federation.
The parade was scheduled to take place at Hollywood Boulevard and
Highland Avenue in Hollywood. Rai said organizers chose this location
because of the large amount of tourists it attracts, but Aprahamian
thinks the location choice was insensitive.
"The Ottoman Military Marching band that was scheduled to march is
just a stone's throw away from little Armenia," said Aprahamian.
Organizers said the marching band was meant to draw attention to the
upcoming Anatolian Cultures Festival in Costa Mesa that begins Oct. 6.
The four-day festival celebrates all cultures that have at one time
lived in what is now Turkey, including Armenians.
But Aprahamian said the band is a military organization, not a cultural
event, and if the goal was to promote a festival in Orange County it
doesn't make sense for the parade to be held in Los Angeles.
The event organizers said no one from the Armenian community had
contacted them directly to protest the event, and that Pacifica was
unaware of the controversy until there was talk of public protests
and Facebook groups forming online.
"We were surprised by the reaction of the Armenian community and we
did not intend to offend anyone," Rai said.
Since the parade was canceled, so was the potential protest.
"We'd prefer this issue not to come up at all," said Aprahamian. "To
us, it's mindblowing that someone would even organize something
like this."
Los Angeles is home to the largest Armenian community outside of
Armenia, said Aprahamian, and he said that the community is still
dealing with serious issues stemming from the Armenian genocide of
almost 100 years ago.
This story has been updated. It also incorporates information from
the Associated Press.
Original Link: http://bit.ly/mT5pFc
ArmeniaDiaspora.com
Sept 30 2011
SCPR.ORG -- A controversial Hollywood parade featuring the Ottoman
Military Marching Band was canceled Wednesday after objections from
the Armenian community, but event organizers said the cancellation
was purely practical.
"We had some logistical issues with the band members trying to make it
here on time," said Hafsa Rai, spokeswoman for the Pacifica Institute,
which canceled the event.
Rai cites paperwork, plane tickets, insurance and other issues as the
real reason the parade was canceled. The entire 35-person marching
band had to be flown out together from Turkey to the U.S., and the
necessary paperwork would not be completed in time, Rai said. She
said that there was a visa issue, as they'd tried to have the visa
approved with expedited processing, but the visa office asked for
more information.
The Armenian Youth Federation and Armenian National Committee called
Monday's planned Hollywood Boulevard parade by an Ottoman military
marching bank an affront to victims of Turkey's 1915-1918 genocide
of Armenians.
"They're obviously not aware of these sensitivities and facts so we
are stuck in this position where we have to voice our opposition,"
said Serouj Aprahamian, the executive director of the Armenian Youth
Federation.
The parade was scheduled to take place at Hollywood Boulevard and
Highland Avenue in Hollywood. Rai said organizers chose this location
because of the large amount of tourists it attracts, but Aprahamian
thinks the location choice was insensitive.
"The Ottoman Military Marching band that was scheduled to march is
just a stone's throw away from little Armenia," said Aprahamian.
Organizers said the marching band was meant to draw attention to the
upcoming Anatolian Cultures Festival in Costa Mesa that begins Oct. 6.
The four-day festival celebrates all cultures that have at one time
lived in what is now Turkey, including Armenians.
But Aprahamian said the band is a military organization, not a cultural
event, and if the goal was to promote a festival in Orange County it
doesn't make sense for the parade to be held in Los Angeles.
The event organizers said no one from the Armenian community had
contacted them directly to protest the event, and that Pacifica was
unaware of the controversy until there was talk of public protests
and Facebook groups forming online.
"We were surprised by the reaction of the Armenian community and we
did not intend to offend anyone," Rai said.
Since the parade was canceled, so was the potential protest.
"We'd prefer this issue not to come up at all," said Aprahamian. "To
us, it's mindblowing that someone would even organize something
like this."
Los Angeles is home to the largest Armenian community outside of
Armenia, said Aprahamian, and he said that the community is still
dealing with serious issues stemming from the Armenian genocide of
almost 100 years ago.
This story has been updated. It also incorporates information from
the Associated Press.
Original Link: http://bit.ly/mT5pFc