Watan – In a deeply unsettling incident that has garnered international attention, the Turkish Ambassador to the United States and embassy staff faced physical and verbal assaults by extremist Armenian groups. This occurred during their attendance at a conference held at the USC School of Communication and Journalism in Los Angeles.
A video shared on social media platforms shows Turkish officials walking within the USC campus when they were suddenly ambushed by a group of young men. These assailants not only hurled verbal abuses but also physically attacked the officials, throwing an unidentified liquid from bottles they held.
Many believe the assault stems from Turkey’s position on the Karabakh events and its backing of Azerbaijan. The U.S. Diplomatic Security Service and the Los Angeles Police Department quickly stepped in, taking necessary security actions to halt further escalation.
Attackers targeted Hasan Murad Merjan, the Turkish Ambassador to the U.S., during a forum on Turkish foreign policies. Alongside him, Azerbaijan’s Consul General in Los Angeles, Ramiel Qurbanov, and Sharaf Atash, the head of the Yunus Emre Cultural Institute, participated, joined by other notable political, cultural, and media personalities.
At the start of the forum, a protester disrupted the proceedings by shouting anti-Turkey and anti-Azerbaijan slogans. Officers quickly removed the individual from the venue.
Turkey’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs voiced grave concerns about the episode, pointing to the risk posed by radical diaspora groups that employ hate speech to provoke violence against Turkey, Azerbaijan, and efforts for peace with Armenia.
In a similar vein, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry denounced the hostile behavior of radical Armenian diaspora members towards Turkish nationals. The ministry underscored the deep-seated ethnic animosity from Armenians as a driving force behind such actions.