BEIRUT, Lebanon—Turkey’s Ambassador to Lebanon, Suleiman Inan Oz Yildiz, was temporarily trapped today inside a Beirut movie theater, as Armenian demonstrators held a protest outside, reported the Lebanese Daily Star newspaper.
Approximately 60 members of the Armenian Youth Federation of Lebanon and the Zavarian Student Association held a demonstration at the entrance of ABC Grand Cinema in Ashrafieh, where Yildiz was attending a screening of “Son Mektup.” The film, a Turkish love story, is set during the Battle of Gallipoli, and tells the story of the Ottoman Empire’s first pilot, Salih Ekrem.
According to the report, protestors yelled out slogans such as “Genocide,” “Truth will triumph” and “We remember,” and held banners reading “Recognize the crime of the century.” Security forces were brought in to block the entrance of the theater to prevent patrons from clashing with protesters.
The protest was organized as a result of Turkey’s efforts to sway public attention away from the anniversary of the Armenian Genocide by focusing on the Battle of Gallipoli.
Earlier this year, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent official invitations to more than 100 world leaders, including Armenian President Serge Sarkisian, to take part in the ceremonies. The date designated for these commemoration events—April 24—created uproar among Armenians worldwide, while Turkish human rights groups urged world leaders to boycott the Gallipoli events.
On Jan. 16, Sarkisian responded to Erdogan’s invitation to Turkey in a strongly worded letter. “Turkey continues its conventional denial policy and is perfecting its instrumentation for distorting history. This time, Turkey is marking the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Gallipoli on April 24, even though the battle began on March 18, 1915 and lasted until late January 1916, while the Allies’ operation started on April 25,” he wrote, adding, “What is the purpose [of this] if not to distract the world’s attention from the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide?”
Turkey is undoubtedly afraid of the truth in any scenario. When you threaten your own scholars to look at things with an open mind, that indicates a dangerous position to take in view of the world. The Armenians, the European Union and countless other viable sources are asking Turkey to be more sensible and stand up as a good power to look deeply into the mistakes of the past century. Come on Turkey, be a man about it.
@Fr. Abraham: Erdogan knows the truth, but he dosen’t have the bls to recognize the Genocide,
God Bless You All. We will ALWAYS Remember the Armenian Genocide and Demand turkey to return to us ALL our Roghts.
I hope they threw some hummus at him