Protest action against Turkish invasion of Cyprus held near Turkish Embassy
in U.S.
22.07.2008 15:11 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The crowd of diverse Cypriot demonstrators braved the
scorching sun outside the Turkish Embassy in Wa****ngton DC, and long
distances, traveling from as far away as Seattle, Annapolis, Philadelphia
and New York to mark the 34th Anniversary of Turkey's invasion of Cyprus
and
to protest Turkey's continued denial of that crime against humanity,
Cyprus
Action Network of America (CANA) told PanARMENIAN.Net.
"Turkey's efforts to deny the invasion of Cyprus, coupled with its
systematic destruction of cultural and religious monuments, the renaming
of
cities and other geographic landmarks and its methodical program of
illegal
Turkish settlers make the current Turkish government an accomplice to and
culpable for Crimes Against Humanity in Cyprus," stated Nikolaos Taneris,
who heads the Cyprus Action Network of America (CANA).
"We reiterated our message to the Turkish regime and its collaborators
that
we will not go away and we will not be silent until Turkey admits the
invasion, returns occupied Cypriot lands and makes appropriate
reparations,"
he continued.
A bus load of Cyprus sup****ters from the STATHAKION CENTER of the
FEDERATION
of HELLENIC SOCIETIES of GREATER NEW YORK in Astoria, were joined by
dozens
of others who came to Embassy Row in the downtown area of
Wa****ngton DC for the demonstration. Representatives from the Hellenic
societies of the Lakonians, the Athenians, the Pan Thracian Union of
America
"ORPHEUS" and, most notably, sup****t from the Brotherhood of MANI, helped
make this demonstration such a great success. Demonstrators distributed
flyers while, loudly and proudly, chanting slogans such as "Turkish Troops
Out of Cyprus" and "Turkish Murderers Out of Cyprus."
This year, the Turkish Embassy organized numerous Turks, many of whom were
seen coming in and out of the Turkish Embassy, to provoke and heckle the
demonstrators. These actions call into question grave ethical and legal
questions about a foreign embassy (that is, Turkey's Embassy) directly
sup****ting and organizing "so-called" political demonstrators on American
soil. The Turkish Embassy directly interacted with their Turk "so-called"
political demonstrators , some of whom flashed the Grey Wolf (this is the
Turkish version of the Ku Klux Klan) hand signal. The Turks, with numerous
****traits of "Ataturk" and flags representing the illegal pseudo-state of
Occupied-Cyprus, were in front of their Turkish Embassy many hours before
the official CANA protest was set to begin, and were seen giving
directions
to their Turk "so-called" demonstrators and to their lawyer through the
gates and doors of the Turkish Embassy. All the Turkish signs in the
beginning looked like they were printed out by computer, with denialist
propaganda slogans, and lame outdated quotes from the 1960s about Cyprus,
that they most likely copied quickly off of a random Turkish website. At
one
carrying hand written signs scrawled with the slogans 'Greek Troops Occupy
Macedonia' and 'Istanbul since 1453'. Many of the Turk so-called
demonstrators were sighted driving around with Turkish diplomatic license
plates. Some of the Turks drove up and down Embassy Row honking their
horns
and waving Turk flags, until they were pulled over by the police. It is
noteworthy to mention that Yenal Kucuker, the Turkish born intern of U.S.
Representative Ed Whitfield (KY-01), co-chair of the Congressional Caucus
on
Turkey, was one of the Turkish Embassy's so-called demonstrators. Gunay
Evinch, President Elect of ATAA (Assembly of Turkish American
Associations)
and "the lawyer of the Turkish Embassy" led the Turks who provoked
demonstrators.
On July 20th of each year Cypriots worldwide commemorate Turkey's invasion
of Cyprus. July 20, 1974, was the date when the Turkish government with
use
of napalm, bombs and warplanes began a campaign of rapes, terror and
murder
that resulted in the illegal military-occupation of well over one-third of
Cypriot land. The Cypriot community holds a picket in front of the Turkish
Embassy in London every year, and an all night vigil is also held in
Syndagma Square in Athens, in addition to demonstrations and memorials in
Cyprus and around the world. This July 20, 2008 marks the second time in
history that Cypriots demonstrated directly in front of the Turkish
Embassy
in Wa****ngton DC. The Turkish State continues to deny responsibility for
Crimes Against Humanity in Cyprus and finances endowed chairs of Turkish
Studies at various American universities, and spends millions of dollars
each year on lobbies in America, to deny Turkish crimes in Cyprus.
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