Armenians, Cypriots protest Ozal visit

Turkish President Turgut Ozal's visit to campus yesterday as the Wharton School's annual Julius Steinberg Memorial lecturer was marred by incidents of protesting and alleged racial discrimination. Lining the walkway into the Medical School, where Ozal was scheduled to speak to a group of over 500 people in that building's Dunlop Auditorium, were over 50 protesters representing the Armenian, Cypriot and Greek groups opposing Ozal's day-long visit. As protesters held their ground outside, inside the auditorium, President Sheldon Hackney was conferring an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree upon Ozal. Signs demanding "Turkish Troops Out Of Cyprus," as well as chants of "Turkey's Ozal: Saddam of Cyprus," dominated the scene as students, faculty and other guests of the Wharton School filed inside. "We want to show the people going into this speech the reality of the genocide that unfortunately isn't taught in American schools," said College senior Raffi Balian, an Armenian protester. "It has always been a concern of all Armenians that the Armenian genocide [of 1915] be recognized by the Turkish government," said College junior Greta Doumanian, another protester. "I want to do whatever I can to have the truth be told." The alleged incident of racial discrimination occured early yesterday morning at the press briefing given by Ozal at the Steinberg Conference Center. A reporter from the Boston-based Armenian Weekly, Joseph Frounjian, was told that there was an overflow of reporters exceeding the number of seats in the briefing room, even though he had originally been given permission to attend, according to a statement. Reporters leaving the press conference said that there would have been room for the reporter to attend. "This is just another example of the continued discrimination against Armenian-Americans by the Turkish government and, through their pressure and influence, American institutions," said Frounjian in a statement. Wharton spokesperson Jean Brown said last night that she was not aware of the incident. Frounjian speculated that the reason he was barred from attending was the fear that he would embarrass Ozal and Wharton by questioning the Turkish President about "the continued denial of the 1915 Armenian Genocide." Frounjian was accompanied by Wharton senior Razmig Arzoumanian, the photographer assigned to the story by the Armenian Weekly. Arzoumanian said that he is even more upset at the discrimination because he is a student at this University. "As a member of the University, I shouldn't have been treated that way," he said. Protesters left Ozal alone for most of the day including the morning press briefing and his afternoon visit to Hackney's residence before organizing outside the afternoon lecture.

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