LA Armenians, Kurds protest against human rights situation in Turkey

PanARMENIAN.Net - Dozens of local activists and community members gathered at the Turkish Consulate in Los Angeles to protest the recent assassination of human rights activist and lawyer Tahir Elçi, the Armenian Weekly reports.

Elçi was the president of the Diyarbakir Bar Association and one of the most prominent Kurdish lawyers and human rights defenders in Turkey. He was shot dead with a single bullet to the back of his head on November 28. Elçi died moments after delivering a speech calling for an end to the ongoing military siege of Kurdish cities in southeastern Turkey.

Protesters demanded accountability from the Turkish government, namely, the AK Party and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Members of various communities affected by Turkey’s atmosphere of racism, intimidation, and fear came together in solidarity to honor Elçi and other victims of Turkish oppression. Kurdish, Armenian, and various Middle Eastern community members were in attendance along with human rights organizations and community coalitions.

The protest, organized by the Rojava Solidarity Committee of Los Angeles and the Armenian Youth Federation (AYF), called for a fair and independent investigation of the murders of Elçi, Hrant Dink, and Sevag Balikci, and all other minority hate crimes in Turkey, as well as an end to government-sanctioned massacres of minorities, including lifting the siege on Kurdish cities, stopping the bombing of guerrilla camps, and stopping support of terror groups in Syria.

They also demanded that the U.S. government stop its support of the Turkish government, banning all arms sales to the AKP government, and suspending Turkey from NATO.

Chalk-outlines of human figures, symbolizing the bodies of Elçi and Dink, were drawn outside the Turkish Consulate’s front steps, turning the protest into the scene of a crime.