Annual April 24th Commemorative Statement not Matched by U.S. Policy Confronting Turkish and Azerbaijani Genocidal Aggression
WASHINGTON, DC – A year after President Biden rejected Turkey’s gag-rule on honest U.S. remembrance of the Armenian Genocide, Armenian Americans look for concrete U.S. action to secure justice for this crime and prevent a second genocide resulting from Turkey and Azerbaijan’s ongoing threats and attacks against Armenia and Artsakh.
President Biden’s second Armenian Remembrance Day statement – issued on April 24th, the international day of remembrance of this crime – once again mourned the “one and a half million Armenians who were deported, massacred, or marched to their deaths in a campaign of extermination.” The statement continued, “As we reflect on the Armenian genocide, we renew our pledge to remain vigilant against the corrosive influence of hate in all its forms. We recommit ourselves to speaking out and stopping atrocities that leave lasting scars on the world.”
ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian stated, “In the year since President Biden first joined Congress in commemorating the Armenian Genocide, he has approved continued U.S. military aid to Azerbaijan – U.S. taxpayer-funded assistance that materially strengthens and morally emboldens an oil-rich dictatorship hell-bent on completing this crime against the Armenian homeland, a landlocked, blocked genocide-survivor state.”
“President Biden’s record, sadly, reflects the letter but not the true spirit of genocide recognition. No sustained pressure on Turkey to reckon with its present-day responsibilities, no confrontation of Azerbaijan’s genocidal violence against Artsakh, no forceful challenge to Ankara’s ongoing denial of this crime, no active support for U.S. educational programs. He can and must do better,” concluded Hamparian.
