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ARMENIANS PROTEST UYGUR TALK AT DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION
asbarez
Wednesday, February 15th, 2012
The protesters turned their backs to Cenk Uygur
SAN DIEGO-Genocide denier and co-founder of the progressive Internet
talk radio show, The Young Turks, Cenk Uyger was greeted by a group
of protesters during his recent appearance at the California State
Democratic Party convention. The event was the Progressive Caucus'
scheduled meeting and panel discussion held at the convention in San
Diego under the auspices of the California Democratic Party.
Prior to the demonstration, the Armenian National Committee
of America-Western Region and the Southern California Armenian
Democrats had lodged complaints with the California Democratic Party
for providing a platform to known Genocide denier. Caro Avanessian of
the California Armenian American Democrats also wrote a formal letter
expressing the concerns of the statewide charter organizations with
the speaker.
Torie Osborne, a candidate for CA State Assembly 50th district (Santa
Monica), removed herself from the panel of speakers due to the efforts
of Southern California Armenian Democrats (SCAD) and the ANCA-WR. Her
voluntary removal increased the pressure on the Progressive Caucus
to cancel Uygur's appearance.
Issues were raised by Armenian and Greek delegates to the party with
the name of Uygur's program which referenced the Young Turks - the
popular name of the Committee of Union and Progress which was the
political party led by the orchestrators of the Armenian Genocide of
1915 - 1923. Concerns were also expressed about an article that Mr.
Uygur wrote while a student at the University of Pennsylvania in
which he made the following statement:
"The claims of an Armenian Genocide are not based on historical facts.
If the history of the period is examined it becomes evident that in
fact no such genocide took place."
The chair of the Progressive Caucus reaffirmed her organization's
support of the Congressional resolutions on the Armenian Genocide
but refused to cancel the speaking engagement of Cenk Uygur, which
led to the collective demonstration at the Progressive Caucus meeting.
Members of Southern CA Armenian Democrats (SCAD), ANCA, CA Armenian
American Democrats Organization (CAAD), Armenian Council of America
(ACA) and San Gabriel Valley Armenian Democrats (SGVAD) passed out
literature on Uygur's record of denial.
Uygur opened his prepared remarks with comments indicating he had
no harmful intent when selecting the name of his program - the Young
Turks. He further stated that he does not hate Armenians. His co-host
on the program is an Armenian, Ana Kasparian.
His refusal to directly address his previous comments led to the
peaceful demonstration by the Armenian-American groups with some
walking out on the speaker while a large contingent turned their
backs to the speaker for the duration of his comments.
Many officials expressed their support for the demonstration, including
Assemblymembers Chuck Calderon (D-Montebello) and Congresswoman Janice
Hahn (D-San Pedro).
asbarez
Wednesday, February 15th, 2012
The protesters turned their backs to Cenk Uygur
SAN DIEGO-Genocide denier and co-founder of the progressive Internet
talk radio show, The Young Turks, Cenk Uyger was greeted by a group
of protesters during his recent appearance at the California State
Democratic Party convention. The event was the Progressive Caucus'
scheduled meeting and panel discussion held at the convention in San
Diego under the auspices of the California Democratic Party.
Prior to the demonstration, the Armenian National Committee
of America-Western Region and the Southern California Armenian
Democrats had lodged complaints with the California Democratic Party
for providing a platform to known Genocide denier. Caro Avanessian of
the California Armenian American Democrats also wrote a formal letter
expressing the concerns of the statewide charter organizations with
the speaker.
Torie Osborne, a candidate for CA State Assembly 50th district (Santa
Monica), removed herself from the panel of speakers due to the efforts
of Southern California Armenian Democrats (SCAD) and the ANCA-WR. Her
voluntary removal increased the pressure on the Progressive Caucus
to cancel Uygur's appearance.
Issues were raised by Armenian and Greek delegates to the party with
the name of Uygur's program which referenced the Young Turks - the
popular name of the Committee of Union and Progress which was the
political party led by the orchestrators of the Armenian Genocide of
1915 - 1923. Concerns were also expressed about an article that Mr.
Uygur wrote while a student at the University of Pennsylvania in
which he made the following statement:
"The claims of an Armenian Genocide are not based on historical facts.
If the history of the period is examined it becomes evident that in
fact no such genocide took place."
The chair of the Progressive Caucus reaffirmed her organization's
support of the Congressional resolutions on the Armenian Genocide
but refused to cancel the speaking engagement of Cenk Uygur, which
led to the collective demonstration at the Progressive Caucus meeting.
Members of Southern CA Armenian Democrats (SCAD), ANCA, CA Armenian
American Democrats Organization (CAAD), Armenian Council of America
(ACA) and San Gabriel Valley Armenian Democrats (SGVAD) passed out
literature on Uygur's record of denial.
Uygur opened his prepared remarks with comments indicating he had
no harmful intent when selecting the name of his program - the Young
Turks. He further stated that he does not hate Armenians. His co-host
on the program is an Armenian, Ana Kasparian.
His refusal to directly address his previous comments led to the
peaceful demonstration by the Armenian-American groups with some
walking out on the speaker while a large contingent turned their
backs to the speaker for the duration of his comments.
Many officials expressed their support for the demonstration, including
Assemblymembers Chuck Calderon (D-Montebello) and Congresswoman Janice
Hahn (D-San Pedro).