Protest action against Turkish invasion of Cyprus held near Turkish Embassy in U.S.

PanARMENIAN.Net - The crowd of diverse Cypriot demonstrators braved the scorching sun outside the Turkish Embassy in Washington 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 supporters 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

Washington DC for the demonstration. Representatives from the Hellenic societies of the Lakonians, the Athenians, the Pan Thracian Union of America "ORPHEUS" and, most notably, support 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 supporting 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 portraits 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 Washington 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.