Armenians demonstrate in Strasbourg

Thousands of Armenians from different European countries protested in Strasbourg against the silence of Europe on the war of aggression of Azerbaijan and Turkey against Artsakh.

The Armenian diaspora is protesting against the occupation attacks by Azerbaijan and the Turkish state since late September with jihadists imported from Syria on the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh). On Friday thousands of Armenians from different European countries traveled to Strasbourg and staged a march from the Council of Europe building to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). In the Council of Europe a debate on the latest Turkey report took place on Thursday and Friday. The demonstrators chanted slogans chanting the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and his Turkish counterpart Erdogan terrorists.

Speeches were made before the ECtHR condemning the war crimes of Azerbaijan and Turkey. The Human Rights Court and the EU countries were called upon to take a stand against them. Afterwards the demonstration march led back to the Council of Europe, where a sit-in against fascism and for the freedom of Abdullah Ocalan has been taking place for two weeks. The Armenian and Kurdish activists chanted together "murderer Erdogan" and condemned Turkish fascism.

Vigel, a board member of the Armenian Association in Brittany, who was born in Armenia and is now a French citizen, also took part in the demonstration after social networks called for him to do so.

"We are here as Armenian people. That Artsakh is called Nagorno-Karabakh is the policy of Azerbaijan and Turkey. The region has been called Artsakh for thousands of years. The people there only want to live in peace and quiet. The Turkish state has had Kurds killed by jihadists, now it has sent the same jihadists to kill Armenians. No state clearly takes a stance against this. Turkey is attacking everywhere within the framework of its neo-Ottoman dreams. Especially the Kurds and Armenians are affected. We condemn the silence of Europe to this," Vigel told ANF.