Los Angeles police forced to remove Armenian protestors disrupting conference on Türkiye

Police on Friday intervened after a group of Armenians verbally and physically assaulted participants at a conference on Turkish foreign policy in Los Angeles, California, in the US, Azernews reports.

Following the event's opening speeches, a group of 11 Armenian students began protesting when Türkiye’s Ambassador to Washington Hasan Murat Mercan started speaking. Another protester verbally abused Ramil Gurbanov, Azerbaijan's consul general in Los Angeles.

The group's 10-minute protest against Türkiye and Azerbaijan was put to an end by campus security and police, who removed the group from the venue.

Throughout the conference, protesters gathered outside and tried to disrupt the program by making noise.

After the meeting, Seref Ates, head of the Yunus Emre Institute– which promotes Turkish culture and language abroad – as well as Türkiye’s Los Angeles Religious Services Attaché Ismail Demirezen, and Saner Ayar, an executive at TV production company 03, were physically and verbally attacked by demonstrators outside.

The event was also attended by Wilson Center Middle East Program head and former US Ambassador to Türkiye James Jeffrey, Yunus Emre Institute US Director Gokhan Coskun, and several others who spoke at the conference.