Iraqi Kurdish Deputy Speaker deprives Iraqi Armenians of their constitutional right to freedom of speech (Armenian Genocide)

The Iraqi Deputy Speaker Aram Mohammed Ali Ahmed (from the Iraqi Kurdish Goran movement) deprived Iraqi Armenians of their inalienable right enshrined in the Iraqi constitution to freedom of speech. He prevented a member of parliament (Mr. Joseph Slewa) from reading the “Address of The Iraqi Armenian community to the Iraqi Council of Representatives on the Centenary of the Armenian Genocide.” the reason that the deputy speaker cited was: “Turkey is a country that we have shared interests with.”

We, as Iraqis of Armenian descent, are appalled: Mr. Aram Mohammed is the representative of people who suffered from massacres, ethnic cleansing, and attempts of Genocide. The Kurdish people’s suffering continued unabated due to the international community’s silence under the pretexts of interests. We are shocked: how could he treat others as he would not want to be treated? We wonder how can Mr. Aram face the world, demand recognition and sympathy to his people’s suffering when, he denied Iraqi Armenians that right?