UC Riverside Student Government Passes Turkey Divestment Measure

RIVERSIDE, Calif.—The Associated Student Body Government of the University of California, Riverside on Wednesday voted unanimously to divest approximately $72.6 million in bonds and holdings in the Turkish government.

“By investing $70 million in Turkish bonds, the UC system is supporting a human rights violation that the Turkish government has denied for a century. It is important that we support this divestment revolution because it shows that UC Riverside takes a strong stance against the perpetuation of genocides,” said Armenian Student Association member Petros Keosoian.

The resolution aims to divest the funds from the Turkish government “for it’s role in and the continued denial of the Armenian genocide”.

“This marks another step in the Armenian community’s call for divestment from the Republic of Turkey, following in the steps of UCLA, UC Berkeley, UC Irvine, and UC Davis,” said Seto Cherchian, a member of the UC Riverside ASA and an activist from the Armenian Youth Federation.

Wednesday’s vote marks the fifth divestment resolution passed at a University of California Campus. Just last week student governments UC Irvine and UC Davis joined their peers at UCLA and UC Berkeley in passing similar resolutions. Moreover, just last month, ASUCI unanimously passed A resolution “Commemorating the Armenian Genocide and Condemning its Denial,” raising further awareness on campus about the Armenian Genocide and its need for international recognition.

The resolution is an initiative started in part by the Armenian Youth Federation (AYF) Western United States- a grassroots community organization dedicated to justice for the Armenian cause and the Armenian people. For any questions, comments or inquiries on the #DivestTurkey campaign, please email divestment@ayfwest.org.