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--ANC-OC sends letters to the Administration of UCI and CSULB regarding the
Universities~R position on the Armenian genocide and in support of the UCI
ASA.
The Armenian Student Association (ASA) at the University of California Irvine
was called before the Student Judicial Affairs Council on May 23, 2006 for an
alleged violation of the University~Rs Physical Abuse policy, as claimed by a
small Turkish group who protested this year~Rs Genocide Commemorations. The
student council subsequently dismissed the charges and ruled that the ASA had
not violated any University Policies.
The alleged incident took place on April 24 at the ASA~Rs Armenian Genocide
Commemoration event. While Yeghzapet Garabedyan, a 92 year old Genocide
survivor was speaking, this small group of protestors began waving a Turkish
flag and screaming ~Sliar,~T ~Sthe Armenians killed the Turks,~T and a barrage of
other obscenities.
Their chants and screams grew louder as they approached the crowd attending
the commemoration event. Although their numbers were small--approximately 5 or
6--they still attempted to disrupt the solemn event. UCI Campus Police were
called by attendees at the commemoration event. Yeghzapet Garabedyan continued
her remarks undisturbed against the backdrop of flashing police lights once
the
officers had arrived.
As the small Turkish group attempted to walk towards the Commemoration, the
UCI Campus Police asked them to stop, where they continued to yell at those
gathered to honor the memory of the 1.5 million victims of the Armenian
genocide. The protestors were eventually escorted from the commemoration by
UCI
Campus Police. No charges were filed and no arrests were made.
In a shameless act of desperation after unsuccessful efforts to disrupt the
solemn Commemoration, one of the protestors chose to file a complaint against
the UCI Armenian Student Association claiming that the student association had
violated the University~Rs physical abuse policy. If the allegations were true,
the UCI ASA would have been suspended as an accredited student organization at
the university and been unable to organize any future Armenian genocide
related
events. The individual who filed the complaint, Vuslat Demirkoparan, is also a
Teacher~Rs Aid (TA) at UCI and has close ties with the Turkish Student
Association at California State University Long Beach (CSULB).
Also involved was Professor Tulin Mangir from CSULB. Professor Mangir is
currently the faculty advisor to the Turkish Students Association at CSULB.
She
has been the Vice President of the Assembly of Turkish American Associations
(ATAA) and was a winner of the 2002 Women of Distinction Award from The
Daughters of Ataturk. Professor Mangir wrote an open letter to Chancellor
Drake
at UCI condemning the Genocide commemoration event, labeling Armenian
organizations as terrorists, accusing Armenians of perpetrating a genocide
against Turks, and stating that the Armenian genocide is a fabricated claim
perpetuated by ~Sbought~T politicians.
The Armenian National Committee of Orange County (ANC-OC) got involved
immediately, met with representatives of the UCI ASA and drafted letters,
including supplemental materials, to be sent to UCI and CSULB. On May 19, the
letters and materials were delivered to Chancellor Drake and Vice Chancellor
Gomez of UCI. Copies were also sent to Chairman Parsky of the UC Board of
Regents and Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante, who is an ex-officio
member of
the UC Regents. The ANC-OC also asked that all baseless allegations against
the
UCI ASA be immediately dropped.
The ANC-OC has also mailed letters to the President Alexander at CSULB,
and to
Chancellor Reed of the California State University System, and Dr. Edelman,
the
director of the Center for studies on Genocide and Holocaust in Chico.
The ANC-OC asked that both Universities clarify their positions regarding the
teaching of the Armenian genocide, and that disciplinary action be taken
against faculty members not following the state~Rs educational guidelines and
policies as outlined in the California Education Code and the Model Curriculum
on Human Rights. They also asked the administration at UCI to take
disciplinary
action against the TA for filing false charges against the ASA and organizing
an unauthorized protest at the University. ANC-OC is requesting that the
administration at CSULB secure a letter of apology from Professor Mangir,
or in
the alternative seek disciplinary action.
On May 23, the 2006 UC Irvine ASA Executive Board Members appeared before the
Student Judicial Affairs Council. It was announced that the UCI ASA had not
violated the University~Rs Physical Abuse Policy and that the Executive had
followed all appropriate procedures in organizing the event.
The ANC-OC will follow up with both universities and is awaiting a
response to
schedule a meeting with both administrations.
For more information about ANC-OC please visit www.ancoc.org, and if you
would
like to get involved please send an email to [email protected].