France to Ban Turkish ‘Grey Wolves’ after Defacement of Armenian Memorial

Hate speech against Armenians has surged amid the ongoing hostilities in Karabakh, with Turks and Azerbaijanis declaring what they call “a hunt of Armenians” and threatening them. For example, a group of Turks in France attacked Armenians rallying to protest Azerbaijan’s aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh, and hit two of the rally-goers with hammers on October 28.

Hundreds of Turkish ultranationalists marched through the streets of two French towns on October 29, chanting threats against Armenians, as tensions over the war in Nagorno-Karabakh boiled over.

A French anti-racism group and an organization representing France’s Armenian community said what they called the “hunt for Armenians” was orchestrated by the Grey Wolves, a militant Turkish ultranationalist group which is active in Western Europe and banned in a number of countries, including Austria. Footage of the marches, which took place on Wednesday night, was circulated on Twitter accounts featuring wolf emojis and references to the Turkish name of the ultranationalist organization, Bozkurtlar.

The International League Against Racism and Anti-Semitism (LICRA) and CCAF, the Coordination Council of Armenian Organizations in France, both called Thursday for the Grey Wolves to be banned.

“French people of Armenian origin must be able to live in France in safety, without being targeted by acts of violence and racial hatred,” the CCAF said in a statement.

A spokesperson for the CCAF, who did not want to be named for security reasons, said no Armenians were injured during the intimidating marches, as most people were at home due to coronavirus restrictions.