Swedish Government Supports Turkey's Inhuman Denial of Assyrian Genocide: Forces Assyrian Group To Take Down Leaflets!
Assyrian International News Agency
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Many people are today aware of the genocide the Assyrian people suffered during WWI at the hands of the Turks and their hired killers, the Kurds. Many also know that this genocide, called Seyfo by Assyrians, is an incredibly controversial issue among Turks, who refuse to this today to accept any accusations of genocide in spite of the conclusions made by independent scholars who have studied the issue.
This Turkish-Assyrian issue caused many headlines in the Swedish media in the last two weeks. It started during a speech of the leader of the social democratic party, Mona Sahlin, in Stockholm on the 12 August 2007. When informed that Mona Sahlin was to hold a speech in town, an Assyrian group prepared a leaflet with the message "Recognize the genocide against the Assyrians." Also present during the speech of the social democratic leader was a Turkish group from the local area.
Chaos ensued. The Turkish group started making threats and demanding that the leaflet of the Assyrian group be taken down. Feeling the pressure and the threats of the Turkish group, the social democratic representatives started demanding from the Assyrians to take down the leaflet. The Assyrians took down the leaflet reluctantly.
The following day the uproar started in the Swedish media. The debate evolved around whether Swedish society should submit to threats made by Turks or other groups who do not respect the freedom of speech. Many influential persons expressed solidarity with the Assyrians and called for the Seyfo genocide to be recognized.
The social democratic party was shaken by the event and the harsh criticism against it for not standing up for the freedom of speech. Several newspapers also criticized the party for not officially recognizing the genocide on Assyrians because of Turkish threats and diplomatic pressure.
EasternStar News Agency
Translated by AINA
To unsubscribe or set email news digest options, visit http://www.aina.org/mailinglist.html
Many people are today aware of the genocide the Assyrian people suffered during WWI at the hands of the Turks and their hired killers, the Kurds. Many also know that this genocide, called Seyfo by Assyrians, is an incredibly controversial issue among Turks, who refuse to this today to accept any accusations of genocide in spite of the conclusions made by independent scholars who have studied the issue.
This Turkish-Assyrian issue caused many headlines in the Swedish media in the last two weeks. It started during a speech of the leader of the social democratic party, Mona Sahlin, in Stockholm on the 12 August 2007. When informed that Mona Sahlin was to hold a speech in town, an Assyrian group prepared a leaflet with the message "Recognize the genocide against the Assyrians." Also present during the speech of the social democratic leader was a Turkish group from the local area.
Chaos ensued. The Turkish group started making threats and demanding that the leaflet of the Assyrian group be taken down. Feeling the pressure and the threats of the Turkish group, the social democratic representatives started demanding from the Assyrians to take down the leaflet. The Assyrians took down the leaflet reluctantly.
The following day the uproar started in the Swedish media. The debate evolved around whether Swedish society should submit to threats made by Turks or other groups who do not respect the freedom of speech. Many influential persons expressed solidarity with the Assyrians and called for the Seyfo genocide to be recognized.
The social democratic party was shaken by the event and the harsh criticism against it for not standing up for the freedom of speech. Several newspapers also criticized the party for not officially recognizing the genocide on Assyrians because of Turkish threats and diplomatic pressure.
EasternStar News Agency
Translated by AINA
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