The Turkish community of Washington, D.C. on Wednesday staged a counter-protest against Armenian demonstrators who had gathered in front of the Turkish Embassy on the anniversary of the 1915 events.
Every year on April 24, Armenian groups in the U.S. organize provocative marches and demonstrations in front of the Turkish Embassy and the Turkish ambassador’s residence in support of so-called Armenian claims surrounding the events.
The Armenian protestors marched in front of the Turkish Embassy and the residence of the Turkish ambassador as well as the Azerbaijani Embassy carrying banners and chanting slogans against Türkiye and Azerbaijan.
Joined by Azerbaijani and Ahıska Turks, the Turkish community members carried Turkish and Azerbaijani flags and protested against the Armenian group.
Organized by the Turkish-American National Steering Committee (TASC), the event began with the reciting of the national anthem and continued with chanting.
Some banners said "We Remember 58 Turkish Diplomats and Family Killed by ASALA/JCAG Terrorists," "Let History Decide" and "U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Armenian Allegations."
In 2021, U.S. President Joe Biden called the events of 1915 a "genocide," breaking with the long-held tradition of U.S. presidents of refraining from using the term. The move was strongly rejected by Türkiye as "null and void."
Nearly 80 people – 58 of them Turkish citizens, including 31 diplomats and members of their families – were killed in attacks from 1973 to 1986 carried out by the ASALA and ARA terrorist groups.
The deadly campaign began in 1973 with the assassination of Türkiye's Consul General in Los Angeles Mehmet Baydar and diplomat Bahadır Demir by a terrorist named Gourgen Yanikian.
TASC co-Chair Melih Bektaş told Anadolu Agency (AA) that for the last five years, every April 24, the Turkish community has been responding to the Armenian "lies and slander" together with the Turkish American community and citizens from the Turkic republics.
"What we particularly emphasize in the banners we prepared today is that this is a political issue. Both the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.N. declare that these allegations are not true and that this is not a genocide," Bektaş added.
He also claimed the “hateful looks and curses of 12 and 13-year-old Armenian children passing by” revealed “how hateful they are towards us.”
“The Turkish American community needs to be more conscious and resist this,” he said.
Attending the demonstration, Azerbaijani citizen Vusal Aliev told AA that they gathered in front of the residence to support their Turkish brothers and sisters.
"Because we are one nation, two states. This genocide is a fabrication," Aliev said.
He said President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan previously suggested opening these archives to see if there was a genocide or not.
"They use this against Türkiye in politics. There is no such thing. If there were, they would come, and the archives would be opened, everything would be revealed," Aliev added.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry on Wednesday rejected the "one-sided statements about the events of 1915 that have been made to satisfy certain radical circles."
"These statements, which distort the historical facts, are also contrary to international law. The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has clearly underlined that the events of 1915 are a legitimate subject of debate," the ministry said.
Stressing that "these biased and partial statements" about history undermine the reconciliation efforts between the two communities, the ministry added that they encourage radical groups to commit hate crimes.
Türkiye's position on the events of 1915 is that the deaths of Armenians in eastern Anatolia took place when some sided with the invading Russians and revolted against Ottoman forces. A subsequent relocation of Armenians resulted in numerous casualties.
The mass arrests of prominent Ottoman Armenian politicians, intellectuals and other community members suspected of links with separatist groups, harboring nationalist sentiments and being hostile to Ottoman rule were assembled in the then-capital Istanbul on April 24, 1915, commemorated as the beginning of later campaigns.
Türkiye objects to the presentation of the incidents as a "genocide," describing them as a tragedy in which both sides suffered casualties.
Ankara has repeatedly proposed the creation of a joint commission of historians from Türkiye and Armenia, as well as international experts, to tackle the issue.
In 2014, then-Prime Minister Erdoğan expressed condolences to the descendants of Armenians who lost their lives in the events of 1915 in a landmark statement.
Separately on Wednesday, Erdoğan commemorated the “Ottoman citizens of Armenian descent who lost their lives due to unfavorable circumstances of World I” and extended his condolences to their descendants in a message sent to Armenian Patriarch Sahak Maşalyan.
The issue has also been a thorn in the side of Türkiye-Armenia relations. Ties, nonexistent in the post-Soviet period, appear to depend on Yerevan’s stance on the issue.
Türkiye’s staunch support for Azerbaijan in its bid to retake lands captured by Armenia further strained efforts to normalize relations between the two countries. However, as Azerbaijan and Armenia edge further toward a permanent peace between the two neighbors, Türkiye signaled it may join the normalization drive.
