Rio Hondo College Newspaper

El Paisano

Rio Hondo College Newspaper

El Paisano

Rio Hondo College Newspaper

El Paisano

Rio Hondo students participate in Kessab protest

Rio Hondo students participated on Friday, March 28, in front of the Turkish Consulate in Los Angeles to protest Turkey’s role in current attacks against civilians living in Kessab, Syria.

Protesters implored President Obama to condemn Turkey’s actions and demand that Turkey stop assisting hundreds of al-Qaeda-linked fighters to cross its border and attack the civilian population, which includes over 2,000 Christian Armenians.

Councilmen Paul Krekorian (Los Angeles), and Jack Hadjinian (Montebello), addressed the crowd at the protest and called for Turkey to stop helping the al-Qaeda-linked forces.

While Many Armenian-Americans students, as well as supporting individuals attended the protest, the atrocities occurring in Kessab demanded for more awareness.

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Social media users addressed the Kessab crisis using the hashtag #SaveKessab.

The campaign began via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at noon on Friday and continued throughout the weekend.

Many users not only hashtagged #SaveKessab, they also changed their profile pictures to show their support.

Rio Hondo student, and protest attendee Hasmig Manoukian was quoted as saying, “It’s horrible. Innocent people are dying, and no one seems to care. Where is the coverage Fox News, CNN, NBC, CBS? Most importantly, where is justice for those who have fallen victims to these maniacs?”

The Armenian Youth Federation is also looking for at least 99 individuals willing to join a sit in at the Turkish consulate for 24 hours of action between April 24, and April 25, from 2pm to 2pm.

The Armenian Youth Federation, which was founded in 1933, and the Kessab Educational Association organized the protest and more information can be found on https://www.facebook.com/savekessab and signing the petition on https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/recognize-atrocities-occurring-kessab/9gzBXSkl

 

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