Shocking moment Turkish diplomats brawl with Armenian protesters on the campus of USC amid controversy over humanitarian crisis in the region
- Armenian students at USC turned out in numbers to protest a speech being given by the Turkish ambassador to the US
- Some 100,000 Armenians have been forced out of Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan by the Turkish-backed Azerbaijani military
- The students, who interrupted the ambassador's speech and at times became physical with members of the diplomatic party, were escorted from the venue
A student demonstration at the University of Southern California devolved into chaos last week when violence erupted between Armenian student protestors and Turkish diplomats.
Students were apparently manhandled by law enforcement who escorted them from the building during a speech being given by the Turkish ambassador to the US.
The ambassador's presence was part of a conference on Turkish foreign policy hosted by the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.
Students from Annenberg's Master of Public Diplomacy program invited Ambassador Hasan Muray Mercan and the Azerbaijani special counsel to discuss Turkish foreign policy at the school.
The event, which was overseen by the director of the program, Dr. Robert Banks, was guarded by Public Safety and LAPD officers as dozens of Armenian protestors came to publicly object to the event.
Video of the altercation capture a handful of protestors pursuing the diplomats, including the ambassador, screaming at them and throwing bottles at them.
![Protestors were forcefully removed from the event after chanting 'shame on Turkey, shame on USC' during a program about Turkish foreign policy](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/03/15/76114159-12588529-image-a-10_1696342067218.jpg)
Protestors were forcefully removed from the event after chanting 'shame on Turkey, shame on USC' during a program about Turkish foreign policy
At one point, a member of the diplomatic party is backed up against a wall be students and physically assaulted.
In a different clip, Armenian students stand in the audience during one of the speeches and begin chanting 'shame on Turkey, shame on USC.'
Banks demanded several times that the students leave the event venue, to no avail.
Eventually, campus security officers and police were called to forcibly remove the students.
The protestors were physically escorted from the venue, despite pushing back verbally and physically.
During his talk, Mercan touched on his perspective of the 1915 genocide, which further riled up the protestors.
'I have my own narrative. Armenia has its own narrative. On this issue of so-called genocide, our position has been very clear … Tragedies took place, Armenians and Turks alike [were] killed,' he said.
Regional tensions between Armenia, Turkey, and Azerbaijan have been high for more than a century because of the Armenian Genocide that occurred in 1915.
Hundreds of thousands of Armenian Christians living in present-day Turkey were starved, abused, and slaughtered en masse. The year-long crime against humanity led to the codification of the term 'genocide' in international law.
Currently, more than 100,000 Armenians in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan have been forced to flee due to hostility from the Turkey-backed Azerbaijani military forces.
![Student protestors at times became physical with representatives of the conference and members of the diplomatic party](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/03/15/76114157-12588529-image-a-13_1696342302450.jpg)
Student protestors at times became physical with representatives of the conference and members of the diplomatic party
![The event, overseen by USC's Dr. Robert Banks, was part of programming for the school's masters of public diplomacy](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/03/15/76114115-12588529-image-m-19_1696342358079.jpg)
The event, overseen by USC's Dr. Robert Banks, was part of programming for the school's masters of public diplomacy
![Students gathered to protest an event at which the Turkish ambassador to the US was speaking at USC. Azerbaijan's Turkish-backed military has forced 100,000 Armenians out of their homes since the beginning of the year](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/03/15/76114091-12588529-image-a-8_1696341824778.jpg)
Students gathered to protest an event at which the Turkish ambassador to the US was speaking at USC. Azerbaijan's Turkish-backed military has forced 100,000 Armenians out of their homes since the beginning of the year
![Armenian student protestors interrupted a speech begin given by the Turkish ambassador to the UN](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/03/15/76114111-12588529-image-m-12_1696342102001.jpg)
Armenian student protestors interrupted a speech begin given by the Turkish ambassador to the UN
![Since January, some 100,000 Armenians have been forced out of an area of Azerbaijan that has long caused tension between the two former Soviet nations](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/03/15/76114149-12588529-Since_January_some_100_000_Armenians_have_been_forced_out_of_an_-m-15_1696343119715.jpg)
Since January, some 100,000 Armenians have been forced out of an area of Azerbaijan that has long caused tension between the two former Soviet nations
There has been tension between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh area since the 1980s, when the two former Soviet countries fought a war with one another as the USSR collapsed.
Armenians have long lived in Nagorno-Karabakh, though the area is internationally recognized as being part of Azerbaijan.
Armenia has called the current course of events an attempted 'ethnic cleansing' by Azerbaijani forces.
More than 200,000 Armenians reside in the greater Los Angeles area, making it the largest Armenian population outside of Armenia. USC also has a sizable Armenian population among its student body.
The president of the USC Armenian Students Association, Talia Wansikehian said conference and subsequent events have taken a toll on the Armenian student population.
'A lot of students are still frustrated. We’re struggling. We’re spending all of our time organizing. You’re obviously emotionally distraught. And there’s just no tangible support coming from the community that’s leaving everyone feeling very alone,' she said.
Sonia Meroian, a board member of ASA, told KTLA that it is 'incredibly shameful that USC Annenberg chooses to host an event like this in this time of mourning.'
Some of LA's most famous Armenians - the Kardashians - have been called up on in recent months to use their considerable platforms to help educate the public about Azerbaijan's military campaign.
In late August, protestors blocked the entrance to the gated Hidden Hills community in Calabasas, where several members of the famous family reside.
![Armenian students on campus say they feel they are not being supported by their institution](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/03/15/76113855-12588529-image-a-18_1696342343715.jpg)
Armenian students on campus say they feel they are not being supported by their institution
![Signs: The demonstrators carried signs that read 'Kim, Speak up for Artsakh' and 'Kim, Your People Need You'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/03/15/74771485-12588529-Signs_The_demonstrators_carried_signs_that_read_Kim_Speak_up_for-a-9_1696341952765.jpg)
Signs: The demonstrators carried signs that read 'Kim, Speak up for Artsakh' and 'Kim, Your People Need You'
During the demonstration, protesters waved Armenian flags and held up signs that read 'Kim, Speak up for Artsakh' and 'Kim, Your People Need You.'
Kim - and Kourtney, Khloe, and Rob's - late father, Robert Kardashian, was a third generation Armenian-American.
The three eldest sisters traveled to Armenia in 2015 to mark the 100th anniversary of Armenian genocide and learn about the history of their people.
In September, Kim and Dr. Eric Esrailia wrote a letter to the Biden Administration asking them to cut US Aid to Azerbaijan and help prevent a second Armenian Genocide.
Earlier this year, the government of Armenia called on the United Nations Security Council to hold an emergency meeting about the ongoing humanitarian crisis.