WASHINGTON (A.W.)—A demonstration will take place on May 16 at 12 p.m. at Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C., to protest Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s U.S. visit. The demonstration is organized by a coalition of organizations, including the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) and the American Hellenic Council.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Photo: Nanore Barsoumian)
A broad array of NGOs will also be on hand to raise their voices against the Erdogan government including Amnesty International USA and the Christian Defense Coalition, which is calling on Turkey to end the unjust imprisonment of Pastor Andrew Brunson.
In anticipation of the meeting between Erdogan and U.S. President Trump, ANCA Executive Director Aram said that the visit is Trump’s best chance to stand up to the Turkish President.
“It’s time to challenge Erdogan’s arm-twisting and—even more importantly—to call out the Turkish government’s covert campaign to hijack U.S. policy through questionable payments to foreign agents, lobbyists, and other influence peddlers,” said Hamparian in a statement. “He can start putting American principles and priorities first by rejecting Ankara’s gag-rule against honest U.S. remembrance of the Armenian Genocide.”
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