Turkey’s US envoy on Thursday strongly condemned an attack on a Turkish restaurant in California, calling on federal and local authorities to protect Turkish Americans there.
Ambassador Serdar Kilic’s remarks came a day after a group of extremist Armenians attacked the Istanbul Cafe restaurant, located in Beverly Hills in the Los Angeles metro area. In a statement, the police department there called the attack a “hate crime.“
“PROTECT THE RIGHTS OF TURKISH AMERICANS”
According to the Beverly Hills Police Department, a group of six to eight males entered the restaurant, made pro-Armenia comments, destroyed property, and physically attacked its employees.
On Twitter, Kilic called on federal and local authorities there to “protect the rights of Turkish Americans and punish the culprits.”
Extremist Armenians attack Turkish restaurant in California WATCH
In a subsequent tweet, Kilic called on LA Mayor Eric Garcetti to condemn the “racially motivated hate crime” by extremist Armenians, saying “members of the Turkish American Community in Los Angeles who are also your constituents expect you to stand by them now.”
Beverly Hills Mayor Lester Friedman called the assault an “unacceptable act of hate and violence.” “There is no place in our city for this behavior and we ask members of the public to please come forward with any information on the suspects in this case,” said Friedman.
The attack comes amid a conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Upper Karabakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), a piece of Azerbaijani territory illegally occupied by Armenian for nearly 30 years.