A diverse group of Armenians, Kurds, Greeks, Cypriots, Yezidis, human rights groups, and even various opposition Turkish political factions protested outside Brookings Institution in Washington D.C., where Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was delivering a lecture, reported the Armenian National Committee of America.
The picketers held banners calling out Turkey’s ongoing Armenian Genocide denial, crackdown on the country’s Kurdish community, and support for ISIS forces in Syria. Among the protesters’ chants was: “Long live Kurdistan; long live Armenia.”
Pro-Turkish counter-protesters wearing “We love Erdogan” T-shirts and holding “We Heart Erdogan” signs, however, chanted their praise for the Turkish president.
Erdoğan security personnel were seen attacking protesters and needed to be subdued by the police. At least one Turkish reporter was pushed and another forced to the ground and beaten by Erdoğan’s security team. Another reporter was forced out of Brookings Institution venue, prior to Erdoğan’s arrival.