TURKISH GOVERNMENT FORCED TO CANCEL CONFERENCE ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE IN ISTANBUL

PanARMENIAN.Net - Under pressure from the Turkish government, organizers of an unprecedented Armenian Genocide conference are being forced to cancel the event set to open in Istanbul May 25, the Armenian Assembly of America reported. The conference, entitled "Ottoman Armenians during the Decline of the Empire: Issues of Scientific Responsibility and Democracy," was due to be held at Bogazici University. According to Agence France-Presse, Turkish Justice Minister Cemil Cicek today accused Conference organizers of committing treason, saying, "We must put an end to this cycle of treason and insult, of spreading propaganda against the [Turkish] nation by people who belong to it." The Armenian Assembly is monitoring this official assault on academic freedom and will report any developments as they happen.