Action Alert Urges State Department and Leading Human Rights Organizations to Speak out Against Recent Attacks on Turkey’s Parliamentarian of Armenian Heritage
WASHINGTON—Citizens concerned about the safety of Garo Paylan, a member of the Turkish Parliament who has come under violent attack due to his Armenian identity and the free expression of his views, can now call upon the State Department, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch to speak out in his defense, using the Armenian National Committee of America’s dedicated portal: www.anca.org/Paylan.
Videos of attacks on Mr. Paylan, in the Turkish Parliament and Constitutional Commission, have gone viral, and have been featured on major media outlets.
With one click, advocates can write to Tom Malinowski, State Department Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor; Ken Roth, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch; and Margaret Huang, Interim Executive Director of Amnesty International – USA. In their letters addressed to these three officials, supporters of Paylan’s safety call for “public alarms” to be raised over the escalating threats and acts of violence directed against him. The letters specifically call for a forthright condemnation of those who seek to intimidate and incite hatred against Paylan.
Earlier this week, the ANCA called upon U.S. Ambassador to Turkey John Bass to publicly voice official U.S. concern regarding the safety of Garo Paylan. In the May 3 letter, ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian compared Paylan’s persecution to that of noted Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, who was gunned down in broad daylight in 2007. “Prior to his [Dink’s] cold-blooded murder, the ANCA had called for an open expression of U.S. concern for his safety. Sadly, none was forthcoming. The only public words raised in his defense were those eulogizing him after his death,” noted Hamparian.
Guest Contributor
Paylan Needs to Come hare and operate in the senate through the skype.
Garo Paylan in 2016, is the Hrant Dink of the early 2000’s…..
He should be more cautious. He speaks boldly about both Armenian issues and Kurdish. This is not a good time for the Kurds, he needs to tone down. Armenians have had worse times in Turkey, and are not faring well in Artsakh, that is bad enough.
O.K. I sent the letters to Tom Malinowski and Ken Roth and Margaret Huang. Let’s say they speak for him, hopefully. Erdogan would listen to no one.
We need to alert Garo, to let the Kurds do their own talking.
If Paylan was a member of the Russian parliament, the US government would have Condemned Putin immediately but when it comes to Turkey and its violations of human rights our government keeps silence. It keeps silence when Turkey has imposed a curfew and is slaughtering the Kurds. Our government does not want to offend Turkey. It is a shameful policy. How can the US champion human rights when it is keeping silent towards flagrant violations of human rights by Turkey? Why is the US government selective in its condemnation? If you want justice to prevail then our government must stand up to bullies like Erdogan.
Good point.
I pray for this brave man and ask good that justice prevail and nothing bad hapen to him.