YEREVAN (YERKIR)–Armenian youth rallied in Yerevan on Monday–calling on the European Union to cancel EU accession talks with Turkey.
Over 250 members of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Youth Organization rallied outside the British embassy in Yerevan–and then marched to EU offices. The talks were scheduled to begin later in the day.
The demanded that talks with Turkey be postponed until the country accepts its role in the Armenian genocide–ensures basic rights of its citizens–and stops oppressing its ethnic minorities.
In their letters to EU member-states and the UK Embassy in Armenia–they called for negotiations with Turkey to be postponed–"in the name of democracy and human rights? as long it as it [Turkey] refuses to acknowledge the Armenian genocide and continues using violence against its minorities." The UK presently holds the EU presidency.
Zinavor Meghrian–a member of the ARF youth that the Republican Party of Armenia voiced its support for the protest and that 5,000 people are expected to stage a similar protest in Europe–organized by the Armenian European Federation.
