ARMENIAN PROTESTS TRAP TURKISH AMBASSADOR IN BEIRUT THEATER
The Daily Star, Lebanon
March 18 2015
BEIRUT: The Turkish ambassador to Lebanon was temporarily trapped
inside a movie theater Wednesday, after Armenian protesters staged
demonstrations outside it.
Roughly 60 protesters from the Armenian Tashnag party screamed slogans,
such as "Genocide," "Truth will triumph" and "We remember," and held
banners reading "Recognize the crime of the century," referring to
Turkey's mass killings of Armenians a century ago.
Security forces blocked the entrance of ABC Ashrafieh's Grand Cinema
to prevent moviegoers from clashing with the protesters.
Ambassador Suleiman Inan Oz Yildiz had been watching the film "Son
Mektup," a Turkish love story set during the Battle of Gallipoli that
recounts the story of the Ottoman Empire's first pilot, Salih Ekrem.
A protester, who requested to remain anonymous, told The Daily Star
that the protests stemmed from the perception that Turkey is trying
to sway public attention away from the anniversary of the Armenian
genocide by focusing on the Battle of Gallipoli.
The Gallipoli Campaign of 1915-16, also known as the Battle of
Gallipoli or the Dardanelles Campaign, was an unsuccessful attempt
by the Allied Powers to control the sea route from Europe to Russia
during World War I. The year the battle commenced, 1915, coincides
with what is considered the beginning of Turkey's discrimination
against its Armenian population.
As the Armenian community prepares to commemorate the centennial
of the Armenian Genocide, Istanbul has called on 100 heads of state
to participate in a Turkish celebration on April 24 to commemorate
the Battle of Gallipoli, read a statement released by the Armenian
party's student union.
The Gallipoli commemoration, which will take place on the same day that
the Armenian state will commemorate the centennial of the genocide,
serves to divert public opinion away from the genocide, it added.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2015/Mar-18/291294-armenian-protests-trap-turkish-ambassador-in-beirut-theater.ashx
From: A. Papazian
The Daily Star, Lebanon
March 18 2015
BEIRUT: The Turkish ambassador to Lebanon was temporarily trapped
inside a movie theater Wednesday, after Armenian protesters staged
demonstrations outside it.
Roughly 60 protesters from the Armenian Tashnag party screamed slogans,
such as "Genocide," "Truth will triumph" and "We remember," and held
banners reading "Recognize the crime of the century," referring to
Turkey's mass killings of Armenians a century ago.
Security forces blocked the entrance of ABC Ashrafieh's Grand Cinema
to prevent moviegoers from clashing with the protesters.
Ambassador Suleiman Inan Oz Yildiz had been watching the film "Son
Mektup," a Turkish love story set during the Battle of Gallipoli that
recounts the story of the Ottoman Empire's first pilot, Salih Ekrem.
A protester, who requested to remain anonymous, told The Daily Star
that the protests stemmed from the perception that Turkey is trying
to sway public attention away from the anniversary of the Armenian
genocide by focusing on the Battle of Gallipoli.
The Gallipoli Campaign of 1915-16, also known as the Battle of
Gallipoli or the Dardanelles Campaign, was an unsuccessful attempt
by the Allied Powers to control the sea route from Europe to Russia
during World War I. The year the battle commenced, 1915, coincides
with what is considered the beginning of Turkey's discrimination
against its Armenian population.
As the Armenian community prepares to commemorate the centennial
of the Armenian Genocide, Istanbul has called on 100 heads of state
to participate in a Turkish celebration on April 24 to commemorate
the Battle of Gallipoli, read a statement released by the Armenian
party's student union.
The Gallipoli commemoration, which will take place on the same day that
the Armenian state will commemorate the centennial of the genocide,
serves to divert public opinion away from the genocide, it added.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2015/Mar-18/291294-armenian-protests-trap-turkish-ambassador-in-beirut-theater.ashx
From: A. Papazian