Educate. Motivate. Activate.
Activists hold a press conference at Kamp Armen following last Thursday’s attack 9Source: DHA)
The Armenian Bar Association has released the following statement regarding last Thursday’s attack on activists at Camp Armen.
THE STATEMENT OF THE ARMENIAN BAR ASSOCIATION CONCERNING CERTAIN EVENTS AT CAMP ARMEN IN ISTANBUL, TURKEY
With grave concern, the Armenian Bar Association has learned that members of the Nor Zartonk Youth Movement, who were protecting the property of Camp Armen in the Tuzla District of Istanbul, Turkey, were beaten by unidentified assailants on Thursday, August 13, 2015.
The Armenian Bar Association”” the largest organization of judges, law academics, lawyers and other legal professionals of Armenian descent in the diaspora””demands that Turkish civil authorities ensure the complete safety of the peaceful protestors at Camp Armen and immediately conduct a thorough, public investigation into these beatings in order to bring the responsible parties to justice. Frankly, neither the failure to prevent further physical violence against peaceful protestors nor an apathetic investigation into the incidents will be excusable.
To be clear, the Armenian Bar Association stands in firm solidarity with the Nor Zartonk Youth Movement as it seeks to prevent yet another unlawful taking of Armenian private property by the Turkish State. Indeed, the State’s attempt to take the Camp Armen property is in clear violation of several international treaties of which Turkey is a signatory.
First, the Treaty of Lausanne guarantees Turkish nationals belonging to Greek, Jewish and Armenian minorities “an equal right to establish, manage and control at their own expense, any charitable, religious and social institutions, any schools and other establishments for instruction and education, with the right to use their own language and to exercise their own religion freely therein.”
