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AYF Calls On Kobe Bryant To Donate Turkish Money

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  • AYF Calls On Kobe Bryant To Donate Turkish Money

    AYF CALLS ON KOBE BRYANT TO DONATE TURKISH MONEY

    PanARMENIAN.Net
    March 4, 2011 - 10:57 AMT 06:57 GMT

    As Kobe Bryant prepares to celebrate his endorsement deal with Turkish
    Airlines at a Paramount Studios launch party, the Armenian Youth
    Federation calls on Kobe to recognize and understand the ramifications
    of becoming the face of the state-run airline and to take steps to
    correct this lapse in judgment.

    "The Republic of Turkey, which runs Turkish Airlines, has attempted
    to mollify international condemnation of its human rights record
    through thinly-veiled public relations ploys. These gimmicks, which
    include abusing the reputation of athletes and stars and employing
    multi-million dollar political lobbyists, cannot hide Turkey's contempt
    for the rights of its citizens and for its own history," the AYF said.

    "Turkey uses brutal violence against its Kurdish minority, whose
    demonstrations have been crushed time and time again. Furthermore,
    Turkey continues to repress free speech and arrests journalists. Just
    last year, the Turkish government offered refuge to Sudanese President
    Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for
    charges of Genocide. Most shameful is Turkey's decades-long attempts
    to distort and deny the Armenian genocide. A few months ago, Turkish
    Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was the 2010 recipient of
    the Muammar Gaddafi prize for human rights, threatened to deport the
    remaining Armenians from Turkey.

    Recently, celebrity entertainers including Beyonce Knowles, Mariah
    Carey, 50 Cent, and others have come under public scrutiny for
    accepting large cash payouts for performing at lavish parties hosted
    by the family of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Following Gaddafi's
    brutal crackdown on protesters, which resulted in the deaths of more
    than 1,000 demonstrators, demands surfaced for music stars to admit
    to accepting money from the regime and for them to donate the same
    amount to charity.

    Last week Nelly Furtado tweeted that she would be donating the one
    million dollars she received, and representatives for Beyonce have
    released a statement declaring that all monies she accepted from the
    Gaddafi family were donated to Haitian earthquake relief efforts.

    This highlights the increasing need for celebrities and public figures
    to be sensitive and act with the utmost prudence and responsibility
    when sponsoring or endorsing products and events. The status
    of celebrity in today's world goes far beyond dollar signs and
    necessitates accountability and understanding.

    We are deeply saddened by Kobe Bryant's dismissive attitude toward the
    concerns of thousands of his fans. His silence has been deafening. We
    believe that Mr. Bryant's sole concern off the court is not just to
    make money; rather we hope that he recognizes his role in world as an
    ambassador of humanity, not of Turkish Airlines. We ask Kobe Bryant
    to use this unique opportunity to act as a responsible and dignified
    public figure and to donate the proceeds from his deal with the
    state-run Turkish Airlines to genocide and human rights education
    and awareness programs such as The Genocide Education Project,"
    the Federation said, Asbarez.com reported.




    From: A. Papazian
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