On Friday, February 27, 2015, notorious genocide deniers Justin McCarthy and Bruce Fein came to visit the University of Toronto to speak on “WWI Hundredth Anniversary: Human Suffering in Eastern Anatolia”.  Armenian students at U of T, who made up the majority of those in attendance, held a silent protest at the event, turning their backs on the speakers when they began to misconstrue the history of the Armenian Genocide.  Full story, including video footage, is available here.

Is it acceptable to you for individuals who are paid to spread the narrative of the Turkish Government on the Armenian Genocide to be using the University of Toronto campus to don a veil of legitimacy?

On the hundredth anniversary of the death of 1.5 million Armenians, you are urged to write to the university expressing how this event impacts you today, in 2015, in Canada.  If you are a student or alumnus of U of T, please ensure that you mention it as you sign at the bottom.  A sample email can be found below:

To: antiracism@utoronto.ca
Cc: president@utoronto.ca; anct@anctoronto.org

Dear Sandra Carnegie-Douglas, Anti-Racism & Cultural Diversity Officer,

I am writing to you to express serious concern about an event organized by the Federation of Canadian Turkish Associations (FCTA) which took place on Friday, February 27, at the University of Toronto. The lecture entitled “WWI Hundredth Anniversary: Human Suffering in Eastern Anatolia,” featured infamous genocide deniers Justin McCarthy and Bruce Fein.

Despite concerns raised by students, professors, alumni, and community associations, the administration of the university allowed the event to take place.

Not only did university space become a podium for denying the Genocide of Armenians it also became a venue for spewing hateful comments. Members of the student groups who attended the event were insulted and threatened. Why did the university not properly assess the concerns voiced by petition and statement signatories? Despite past experiences with similar outcomes, and with full knowledge of the intentions of the FCTA, who maliciously intended to counter Canada-wide efforts for Armenian Genocide commemoration and education, the administration allowed this event to take place.

I would like the University of Toronto to disassociate itself from this event and reaffirm its commitment to educating its student body about the Armenian Genocide through its faculties in an official statement. One hundred years after 1.5 million Armenians were driven from their homes, starved, stabbed, shot, and raped, will we allow the University of Toronto to be a place where the descendents of its survivors and victims are taunted for their suffering?

anct@anctoronto.org.