-PRESS RELEASE-
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 22, 2017
Contact: Sevag Belian (613) 235-2622
Editor’s Note: On April 3, 2017, the Armenian National Committee of Canada (ANCC) launched “Turkey: Thirty Days of Shame“, a campaign aimed at informing and educating Canadians about Turkey’s flagrant and consistent abuses of human rights, disregard to the principles of democracy and its continuous denial of the Armenian Genocide. Every weekday during the entire month of April, the ANCC will post one article, video, or human rights report highlighting Turkey’s continuing disrespect for human rights and its ruling regime’s efforts to gloss over its gross violations with slick propaganda, political bullying, and misinformation.
Ottawa — The week’s theme was Turkey’s state-sponsored crackdown on civil society and minority rights. President Erdogan’s decent to absolute dictatorship has been marked by overly disproportionate security measures, countless acts of human rights violations and blatant attempts at undermining the people’s fundamental rights. The tens of thousands of unwarranted arrests, detainments and state-sponsored torture of minority representatives have come to resemble the Stalinist era purges of the Soviet Union. Despite international pressure and notable organizations such as Amnesty International calling upon his government to abide by the norms of international law, President Erdogan has remained defiant and continued to persecute his own people. In November, 2016, Turkish authorities arrested and detained 11 members of the pro-Kurdish HDP Party as the ongoing crackdown against minorities and the opposition continued across the country. To this day, the Turkish regime remains unaccounted for its furious suppression and marginalization of minorities.
Below a summary of the articles, video, and human rights reports posted during Week 3:
Day 1: Human Rights Watch – Turkey: Crackdown on Kurdish Opposition
Day 2: The Huffington Post – 60 Minutes Exposes Turkey’s Oppression of Minority Rights
Day 3: Turkish Minute – US Human Rights Report: Tens of thousands jailed in Turkey with little clarity on charges
Day 4: Hurriyet Daily News – Turkey’s education system discriminates against ethnic, religious minorities: Report
Day 5: The Financial Times – Turkey’s Alevi minority fear future under Erdogan presidency
Details of the “Turkey: Thirty Days of Shame” Campaign:
When: One posting every day at 10:00am EST starting on Monday, April 3, 2017 until Friday, April 28, 2017.
Where: ANCC website “Turkey: Thirty Days of Shame” campaign page — http://www.ashodd4.sg-host.com/thirty-days-of-shame
ANCC Facebook page — www.facebook.com/ArmenianNationalCommitteeofCanada
ANCC Twitter page — www.twitter.com/ancc_cnac
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The ANCC is the largest and the most influential Canadian-Armenian grassroots human rights organization. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout Canada and affiliated organizations around the world, the ANCC actively advances the concerns of the Canadian-Armenian community on a broad range of issues and works to eliminate abuses of human rights throughout Canada and the world.
