‘We stand with you’ – Armenian education minister tells LA schools after 'unfathomable' hate crime involving Turkish flags
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YEREVAN, JANUARY 31, ARMENPRESS. Armenia’s Minister of Education and Science Arayik Harutyunyan has condemned the hate crime in Los Angeles when an unknown individual hanged Turkish flags on the buildings of two Armenian schools of the city.
He said that the incident “causes great anger because such manifestations of hate in present days are simply unacceptable and are unfathomable by the civilized world”.
He condemned the act in strongest terms and hoped that the LAPD will soonuncover the case and will rule out the repetition of similar incidents in the future.
“I am happy and proud that educational facilities like the Holy Martyrs Ferrahian High School and the AGBU Manoogian-Demirdjian School are functioning so far away from Armenia,” he said, referring to the two schools that were targeted in the apparent hate crime.
“We stand with you”, the Armenian minister said in a statement to the Armenian community.
In the early morning of January 29, Turkish flags were hung on the two Armenian schools in Los Angeles.
The LAPD is treating the incident as a hate crime and has launched an investigation.
Police described the suspect as a man who stands 5 feet, 8 inches to 5 feet, 11 inches tall. He wore a black mask, black hooded sweatshirt, black pants and black shoes.
“It is the equivalent of putting a Nazi swastika on the side of a Jewish school,” said Los Angeles City Councilman Paul Koretz, whose district includes one of the schools.
U.S. Rep. Brad Sherman, who represents the San Fernando Valley, condemned the vandalism in a statement Tuesday.
“It is particularly cruel to those whose family members died in the Armenian genocide,” the Democrat said. “I call on law enforcement to make arresting the vandals a high priority.”
Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan