Turkish lawyers blast Armenian conference organizers, warn universities

At a press conference following the annoucement of the second postponement of the Armenian conference at Bosphorus University, lawyer Kemal Kerincsiz, speaking for the Lawyers Union which led the move to have the conference cancelled, said that a victory had been struck against treason in Turkey. Kerincsiz warned that "if the university says "We are going ahead with conference anyway" the police will have the right to break it up according to the court decision, as it will be an illegal meeting at that point." Kerincsiz also hailed the court's decision as putting the final death note on the conference, saying "This conference is over. It will not be possible to organize it again."  Kerinciz also talked about the first cancellation of the Armenian conference, noting that it had been the result of what he called the correct reaction of the Justice Ministry to such an endeavor. The second attempt at organizing the conference came about, Kerincsiz said because of the efforts of "so-called intellectuals who take it upon themselves to defend the Armenian diaspora." Kerincsiz pointed at basic patriotism as the motivation behind the lawyers' successful efforts to have the conference cancelled, saying "No Turkish lawyer should be expected to allow the comedy of the defense of the Armenian thesis to play out in his land." Â