– Mobilizes Communities around Genocide Justice, Artsakh Return, and Azerbaijan Accountability
As the world marked Armenian Genocide Justice Day on April 24th, Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) national team members traveled across the U.S. to join in community commemorations, advocating for justice and accountability for Turkey and Azerbaijan’s crimes committed in 1915 and 2023.
At the Armenian Youth Federation (AYF-YOARF) March for Justice White House rally, ANCA Chairman George Aghjayan spoke powerfully about the continuous nature of the Armenian Genocide and the current threat to the Armenian people. “What we’re talking about today is not two genocides, it is one continuous genocide begun 110 years ago and continuing to this day. If you have walked on the lands of our people, you have seen the destruction that has continued on our cultural heritage, the discrimination and pain caused to the Armenians who still live on those lands. And you understand that what happened in Artsakh is part of a plan begun 110 years ago by Talaat Pasha. Today’s Turkey and Azerbaijan are carrying out the exact same plan.”
At the Times Square commemoration, sponsored by the Knights and Daughters of Vartan along with a broad range of organizations including the ANCA, National Grassroots Director Gev Iskajyan declared that the Armenian nation carries its struggle for justice “with the undying faith of our survivors who taught us that the greatest act of resistance is to live, to thrive, and to never forget. And today, 110 years later, we vow not to merely survive, but to rise, to rise as a people unbowed, to rise as a nation reborn.”
Iskajyan rallied for “real unity,” around principle – in defense of Artsakh, for the release of Azerbaijan’s Armenian POWs and prisoners, and justice for the Armenian Genocide. “And we will work tirelessly, tirelessly against anyone and anything that stands in the way of our goals,” stated Iskajyan
At the Armenian Genocide United Committee of Greater Detroit’s Annual Armenian Genocide Commemoration, ANCA Policy Director Alex Galitsky emphasized the importance of ensuring the right of return for Artsakh’s Armenians as a condition to any Azerbaijan-Armenia regional peace deal. “Unlike the Armenian Genocide 100 years ago that we stand here today to commemorate, the genocide of Artsakh is reversible. […] We must never give up our fight for the collective right of return – with real guarantees that allow our people to live in Artsakh free from violence, terror and retribution – free from subjugation.” Galitsky envisions a future where Armenians fully realize their right to self-determination and self-governance to ensure that the threat of extinction would no longer plague the spirit of the Armenian people. Bringing about the vision of a rekindled Armenian spirit comes to fruition partly through the ANCA’s strategic organizing of diasporans to advance the Armenian Cause.
Speaking at the ANC-Illinois Armenian Genocide Commemoration event, ANCA Communications Director Elizabeth Chouldjian condemned the recent backsliding on Armenian Genocide recognition by the Trump administration, calling the statement “a deliberate retreat from truth. A disgraceful signal that — even after Artsakh’s ethnic cleansing — American leaders still view genocide recognition as a geopolitical commodity.”
Chouldjian warned of Azerbaijan-Armenia “peace” talks imposed at the barrel of a gun. “Azerbaijan’s so-called peace demands the removal of ceasefire monitors. It demands Armenia rewrite its constitution at Baku’s command. It demands that Artsakh’s Armenians be abandoned — their homes erased, their culture extinguished. This is not peace. It is submission. It is the final stage of genocide.”
At the Greater Washington Armenian Genocide commemoration organized by the Hamasdegh Armenian School, ANCA Programs Coordinator Nareg Mesrobian shared the story his great-grandfather Haig Mesrobian and great-uncle Vagharsh Mesrobian – freedom fighters who participated in the historic defense of Urfa. “It is thanks to these kinds of fedayis that we today are able to gather and stand tall as Armenians. Their spirit of defiance is what carried us through and continues to carry us. And that is why, today—on April 24—I do not simply strive to be a proud and faithful Armenian. I strive to write with their spirit and to become a fedayi myself: resilient, unwavering, and actively engaged in the Armenian Cause.” He made a direct call to his audience, “Let us not be passive and symbolic. Let us not commemorate the Armenian Genocide just once a year. Let us not only be mourners, but become activists. Let us become doers. Fighters. Let us remember our past every day, and with the spirit of the fedayis, carry forward our sacred struggle—not only on April 24, but every single day.”
In each of the remarks, the ANCA team called on Armenian Americans and allies of justice to take concrete U.S. action on the broad range of policy priorities. First and foremost, they emphasized enforcing Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act to halt U.S. military aid to Azerbaijan, while simultaneously pushing for a complete ban on all military assistance to Aliyev’s regime.
Additionally, the ANCA is advocating for Magnitsky sanctions on Azerbaijani officials responsible for war crimes. Beyond these immediate measures, the ANCA is also calling on the U.S. to lead diplomatic efforts at the United Nations Security Council to ensure the safe return of Armenians to Artsakh.
Furthermore, they are urging the U.S. government to demand that Turkey end its denial of the Armenian Genocide, as well as to take immediate action to protect the Armenian Christian Quarter in Jerusalem. Throughout these appeals, the ANCA stressed the urgency of ending U.S. complicity in genocide denial, while also working to block arms sales to Turkey and Azerbaijan, and ultimately pressuring Azerbaijan to release Armenian hostages without delay.
To take action on these ANCA priorities, visit anca.org/action.