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LOS ANGELES–The “Stop the
Protocols” Campaign, a broad-based coalition of Armenian youth
groups and organizations across the United States, demonstrated
Friday against the Turkey-Armenia protocols at the Swiss
Consulate in Los Angeles.
 The
protest sought to inform the Swiss government of the
contradictions in participating in a process that has seen the
drafting of a set of one-sided protocols that threaten Armenia
and undermine the rights of all Armenians. During the
demonstration a delegation met with the Consul General to
deliver a written letter to the Swiss government expressing the
campaigns concerns.
“The meeting with the
Swiss Consul General was an important step in expressing our
community’s disapproval of the protocols and course being taken
in the Turkey-Armenia negotiations process, explained Caspar
Jivalagian, who met with Consul Brigitta Schoch Dettweiler
alongside Haroutin Haroutinian.
The so-called protocols
call on Armenia for the establishment of a “historical
commission” to examine historical “problems” between the two
countries, a move many analysts and genocide scholars consider a
ploy by Turkey to cast doubt on the veracity of the Armenian
Genocide.
As the primary mediator
between the Turkish and Armenian governments, the Swiss
government has been involved in the negotiations process between
the two countries since before the drafting of the protocols.
“We explained to the
Consul that the protest was not against the Swiss government but
against the mediation process,” added Jivalagian. “The voice of
our community needs to be heard by all those involved in making
decisions affecting the fate of the Armenian nation.”
 During
the visit, the delegation, which also included Haroutin
Haroutinian, also thanked the Swiss government for its firm
stand in recognition of the Armenian Genocide. “But we stressed
very heavily on how her government’s role in the mediation
processes–the protocols in particular–go counter to the
traditions and the beliefs of the Swiss people,” explained
Haroutinian.
Schoch Dettweiler, for her
part, said her government was not involved in the drafting of
the protocols, adding that the Swiss are trying to stay as
neutral as possible and are only interested in facilitating
talks between Armenia and Turkey.
Expressing respect toward
the demonstrators for taking time to make their voices heard,
Schoch Dettweiler promised she would relay the letter to her
government, as well as the demonstrators’ overall message that
the protocols go against fundamental Swiss values.
“Our message got across,
they understand our points, and we hope that when she takes our
letter back to her government, they listen to what we said,”
explained Arek Santikian.
Pointing to the hundred
people rallied outside the consulate, one demonstrator, Patil
Aslanian, exclaimed that “if we do not express our opposition,
then the Armenian government will not see how the overwhelming
majority of people in the Diaspora are against the protocols.”
 Only
by being active and united, she continued, will the Diaspora be
able to show its discontent and work toward stopping these
protocols.
“At this point it doesn’t
matter what organization you are a part of or what political
opinions you hold, none of us agree with these protocols and all
of us agree on the Armenian Cause so we are all working together
and speaking with one voice to call for a serious change and an
immediate stop to these protocols,” she said.
Built around the shared
conviction that these protocols must be stopped at all costs,
the “Stop The Protocols” Coalition consists of the ARF Shant
Student Association, Unified Young Armenians, Armenian Youth
Federation, Woodbury University Armenian Students Association,
UCLA Armenian Students Association, and others. For more
information, updates, and ways to get active on this issue,
visit:
http://stoptheprotocols.com
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