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CLASH AT ABC ASHRAFIEH AS ARMENIANS PROTEST TURKISH FILM
NaharNet, Lebanon
March 18 2015
by Naharnet Newsdesk
A fistfight erupted Wednesday at the ABC mall in Ashrafieh after a
number of young Lebanese Armenian men tried to stop the showing of
the Turkish film Son Mektup at a Grand Cinemas movie theater.
Despite the objections, the show went on as scheduled, in the presence
of the Turkish ambassador, MTV reported.
The protest was organized by the Tashnag Party, the biggest Armenian
party in Lebanon, which described its move as a "peaceful rally."
"The sit-in escalated into a stampede and a brawl between the
protesters and those who came to watch the movie," LBCI television
said.
"Security forces arrived and locked down the mall for around an hour
before managing to disperse the protesters," it added.
MTV said customers were allowed to reenter the mall after the demo
was dispersed.
The Tashnag Party meanwhile issued a statement describing the film
as a "new Turkish absurdity" and an attempt to "underestimate the
minds of the Lebanese."
The film's plot tells the story of a young Turkish air officer who
falls in love with a nurse during the 1915 Gallipoli Campaign.
Turkey on Wednesday marked 100 years since the start of the Gallipoli
Campaign by the Allies in World War I, an event seen now as a glorious
victory by Ottoman forces and a crucial moment in the formation of
the modern Turkish state.
On March 18, 1915, joint British-French naval forces sought to force
their way through the Dardanelles Straits separating Europe from Asia
in a bid to take Istanbul, then known as Constantinople.
However the attack was repelled by fierce Ottoman resistance, forcing
the Allies to stage a land campaign in April that the Ottoman forces
would also defeat in a months-long battle.
Although the Ottoman Empire, allied with Berlin, was on the losing
side in World War I and subsequently collapsed, the Gallipoli Campaign
is regarded by Turks as a seminal moment in their history.
Critics have accused Turkey of cynically shifting the date to
overshadow ceremonies expected in Armenia and across the world to
remember the 100th anniversary of the mass killings of Armenians by
Ottoman forces in World War I.
Turkey has always rejected pressure to accept that the killings
were a genocide and shows no sign of changing its position in the
anniversary year.
"Here we are in Beirut today witnessing a new Turkish opportunist bid
through the showing of a propaganda film in Lebanese movie theaters,"
the Tashnag Party said in a statement.
The film "narrates a bloody and oppressive phase of the Ottoman
history," Tashnag added.
It also slammed the employees of the "ominous Turkish embassy and
those who work in its 'black rooms'."
"The step might seem innocent on the surface but its core and
objectives are full of inherent Turkish malevolence."
http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/172113-clash-at-abc-ashrafieh-as-armenians-protest-turkish-film
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From: Katia Peltekian
Subject: Beirut: Clash at ABC Ashrafieh as Armenians Protest Turkish Film
NaharNet, Lebanon
March 18 2015
Clash at ABC Ashrafieh as Armenians Protest Turkish Film
by Naharnet Newsdesk
A fistfight erupted Wednesday at the ABC mall in Ashrafieh after a
number of young Lebanese Armenian men tried to stop the showing of the
Turkish film Son Mektup at a Grand Cinemas movie theater.
Despite the objections, the show went on as scheduled, in the presence
of the Turkish ambassador, MTV reported.
The protest was organized by the Tashnag Party, the biggest Armenian
party in Lebanon, which described its move as a "peaceful rally."
"The sit-in escalated into a stampede and a brawl between the
protesters and those who came to watch the movie," LBCI television
said.
"Security forces arrived and locked down the mall for around an hour
before managing to disperse the protesters," it added.
MTV said customers were allowed to reenter the mall after the demo was
dispersed.
The Tashnag Party meanwhile issued a statement describing the film as
a "new Turkish absurdity" and an attempt to "underestimate the minds
of the Lebanese."
The film's plot tells the story of a young Turkish air officer who
falls in love with a nurse during the 1915 Gallipoli Campaign.
Turkey on Wednesday marked 100 years since the start of the Gallipoli
Campaign by the Allies in World War I, an event seen now as a glorious
victory by Ottoman forces and a crucial moment in the formation of the
modern Turkish state.
On March 18, 1915, joint British-French naval forces sought to force
their way through the Dardanelles Straits separating Europe from Asia
in a bid to take Istanbul, then known as Constantinople.
However the attack was repelled by fierce Ottoman resistance, forcing
the Allies to stage a land campaign in April that the Ottoman forces
would also defeat in a months-long battle.
Although the Ottoman Empire, allied with Berlin, was on the losing
side in World War I and subsequently collapsed, the Gallipoli Campaign
is regarded by Turks as a seminal moment in their history.
Critics have accused Turkey of cynically shifting the date to
overshadow ceremonies expected in Armenia and across the world to
remember the 100th anniversary of the mass killings of Armenians by
Ottoman forces in World War I.
Turkey has always rejected pressure to accept that the killings were a
genocide and shows no sign of changing its position in the anniversary
year.
"Here we are in Beirut today witnessing a new Turkish opportunist bid
through the showing of a propaganda film in Lebanese movie theaters,"
the Tashnag Party said in a statement.
The film "narrates a bloody and oppressive phase of the Ottoman
history," Tashnag added.
It also slammed the employees of the "ominous Turkish embassy and
those who work in its 'black rooms'."
"The step might seem innocent on the surface but its core and
objectives are full of inherent Turkish malevolence."
http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/172113-clash-at-abc-ashrafieh-as-armenians-protest-turkish-film
From: Baghdasarian
NaharNet, Lebanon
March 18 2015
by Naharnet Newsdesk
A fistfight erupted Wednesday at the ABC mall in Ashrafieh after a
number of young Lebanese Armenian men tried to stop the showing of
the Turkish film Son Mektup at a Grand Cinemas movie theater.
Despite the objections, the show went on as scheduled, in the presence
of the Turkish ambassador, MTV reported.
The protest was organized by the Tashnag Party, the biggest Armenian
party in Lebanon, which described its move as a "peaceful rally."
"The sit-in escalated into a stampede and a brawl between the
protesters and those who came to watch the movie," LBCI television
said.
"Security forces arrived and locked down the mall for around an hour
before managing to disperse the protesters," it added.
MTV said customers were allowed to reenter the mall after the demo
was dispersed.
The Tashnag Party meanwhile issued a statement describing the film
as a "new Turkish absurdity" and an attempt to "underestimate the
minds of the Lebanese."
The film's plot tells the story of a young Turkish air officer who
falls in love with a nurse during the 1915 Gallipoli Campaign.
Turkey on Wednesday marked 100 years since the start of the Gallipoli
Campaign by the Allies in World War I, an event seen now as a glorious
victory by Ottoman forces and a crucial moment in the formation of
the modern Turkish state.
On March 18, 1915, joint British-French naval forces sought to force
their way through the Dardanelles Straits separating Europe from Asia
in a bid to take Istanbul, then known as Constantinople.
However the attack was repelled by fierce Ottoman resistance, forcing
the Allies to stage a land campaign in April that the Ottoman forces
would also defeat in a months-long battle.
Although the Ottoman Empire, allied with Berlin, was on the losing
side in World War I and subsequently collapsed, the Gallipoli Campaign
is regarded by Turks as a seminal moment in their history.
Critics have accused Turkey of cynically shifting the date to
overshadow ceremonies expected in Armenia and across the world to
remember the 100th anniversary of the mass killings of Armenians by
Ottoman forces in World War I.
Turkey has always rejected pressure to accept that the killings
were a genocide and shows no sign of changing its position in the
anniversary year.
"Here we are in Beirut today witnessing a new Turkish opportunist bid
through the showing of a propaganda film in Lebanese movie theaters,"
the Tashnag Party said in a statement.
The film "narrates a bloody and oppressive phase of the Ottoman
history," Tashnag added.
It also slammed the employees of the "ominous Turkish embassy and
those who work in its 'black rooms'."
"The step might seem innocent on the surface but its core and
objectives are full of inherent Turkish malevolence."
http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/172113-clash-at-abc-ashrafieh-as-armenians-protest-turkish-film
Content-Type: MESSAGE/RFC822; CHARSET=US-ASCII
Content-Description:
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
From: Katia Peltekian
Subject: Beirut: Clash at ABC Ashrafieh as Armenians Protest Turkish Film
NaharNet, Lebanon
March 18 2015
Clash at ABC Ashrafieh as Armenians Protest Turkish Film
by Naharnet Newsdesk
A fistfight erupted Wednesday at the ABC mall in Ashrafieh after a
number of young Lebanese Armenian men tried to stop the showing of the
Turkish film Son Mektup at a Grand Cinemas movie theater.
Despite the objections, the show went on as scheduled, in the presence
of the Turkish ambassador, MTV reported.
The protest was organized by the Tashnag Party, the biggest Armenian
party in Lebanon, which described its move as a "peaceful rally."
"The sit-in escalated into a stampede and a brawl between the
protesters and those who came to watch the movie," LBCI television
said.
"Security forces arrived and locked down the mall for around an hour
before managing to disperse the protesters," it added.
MTV said customers were allowed to reenter the mall after the demo was
dispersed.
The Tashnag Party meanwhile issued a statement describing the film as
a "new Turkish absurdity" and an attempt to "underestimate the minds
of the Lebanese."
The film's plot tells the story of a young Turkish air officer who
falls in love with a nurse during the 1915 Gallipoli Campaign.
Turkey on Wednesday marked 100 years since the start of the Gallipoli
Campaign by the Allies in World War I, an event seen now as a glorious
victory by Ottoman forces and a crucial moment in the formation of the
modern Turkish state.
On March 18, 1915, joint British-French naval forces sought to force
their way through the Dardanelles Straits separating Europe from Asia
in a bid to take Istanbul, then known as Constantinople.
However the attack was repelled by fierce Ottoman resistance, forcing
the Allies to stage a land campaign in April that the Ottoman forces
would also defeat in a months-long battle.
Although the Ottoman Empire, allied with Berlin, was on the losing
side in World War I and subsequently collapsed, the Gallipoli Campaign
is regarded by Turks as a seminal moment in their history.
Critics have accused Turkey of cynically shifting the date to
overshadow ceremonies expected in Armenia and across the world to
remember the 100th anniversary of the mass killings of Armenians by
Ottoman forces in World War I.
Turkey has always rejected pressure to accept that the killings were a
genocide and shows no sign of changing its position in the anniversary
year.
"Here we are in Beirut today witnessing a new Turkish opportunist bid
through the showing of a propaganda film in Lebanese movie theaters,"
the Tashnag Party said in a statement.
The film "narrates a bloody and oppressive phase of the Ottoman
history," Tashnag added.
It also slammed the employees of the "ominous Turkish embassy and
those who work in its 'black rooms'."
"The step might seem innocent on the surface but its core and
objectives are full of inherent Turkish malevolence."
http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/172113-clash-at-abc-ashrafieh-as-armenians-protest-turkish-film
From: Baghdasarian