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Time in Yerevan: 11:07,   29 March 2024

Peaceful protesters brutally attacked in Washington by Turkish nationalists

Peaceful protesters brutally attacked in Washington by Turkish nationalists

YEREVAN, MAY 17, ARMENPRESS. Supporters of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan have attacked peaceful protesters in Washington D.C, the ANCA reported.

“[This was] the type of violence you would never expect to see in America’s capital. It was the type of violence you’d expect to see in Erdogan’s Turkey and in other dictatorships,” said Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) Executive Director Aram Hamparian, who captured parts of the attack and streamed the aftermath live on the ANCA’s Facebook page. “This is the very type of intolerance that has come to predominate in Turkey and it has now been exported here,” he added, as quoted by Armenian Weekly.

The demonstration, which began at Lafayette Square at noon, was organized by a coalition of organizations, including the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) and the American Hellenic Council. Several different groups, which included representatives from the Armenian, Greek, Kurdish, and Assyrian communities, participated in the protest, while President Erdogan met with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House.

“I saw a group of peaceful protesters in Sheridan Circle—a grassy area across from the Turkish Ambassador’s residence—who were protesting and exercising their constitutional right to speak their minds, to hold signs, to share their opinions, and express their views get rushed from across the street by a group of a pro-Erdogan [demonstrators], who broke through the police lines and attacked literally anybody within their reach with their fists and anything else they could get a hold of,” Hamparian said in the live video moments after the attack. Hamparian went on to explain that the crowd of Erdogan supporters beat as many people as they could and that many were bloodied and had to be taken to the hospital.

“This is exactly the type of violence you see in Ankara and they are exporting it here. It’s one thing for the Turkish government to do that to its own citizens—[which is] a terrible thing. It is another thing for us, as Americans, to see that exported to the United States,” Hamparian said.








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