President Biden’s April 24 Statement Silent on Azerbaijan’s Genocidal Actions Against Artsakh

ANCA’s Aram Hamparian Responds: “The proper way for President Biden to honor the victims of the 1915 Genocide is to stop the 2023 ethnic-cleansing of Artsakh - and that starts with ending U.S. military aid to Azerbaijan.”

April 24, 2023

WASHINGTON, DC – Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) Executive Director Aram Hamparian issued the following statement regarding President Biden’s April 24th “Armenian Remembrance Day” statement.

“Today President Biden recycled past April 24th statements recognizing the 1915-23 Armenian Genocide without any reference to Azerbaijan’s ongoing genocide against Armenians living in their indigenous Artsakh homeland.”

“This is a cold and calculated move – far more than a missed opportunity – that signals to Azerbaijan that the US will not impose costs and consequences on the oil-rich Aliyev regime for its escalating ethnic-cleansing and extinction-level aggression against Artsakh and Armenia.”

“This sends a chilling message of indifference to Armenians and allied Americans – and to the people of Artsakh and Armenia – under the thin veneer of false sympathy for the victims of this century-old crime.”

“Today’s statement is consistent – sadly – with the policies of a President who joined Congress (and 50 states) in recognizing the Armenian Genocide in 2021 then – within 24 hours – green-lighted continued US military aid to Azerbaijan, a country hell-bent on completing this crime.”

“The proper way for President Biden to honor the victims of the 1915 Genocide is to stop the 2023 ethnic-cleansing of Artsakh – and that starts with ending U.S. military aid to Azerbaijan.”

President Biden’s full Armenian Remembrance Day statement is provided below and available here:

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The White House

Statement from President Joe Biden on Armenian Remembrance Day

Today, we pause to remember the lives lost during the Meds Yeghern—the Armenian genocide— and renew our pledge to never forget.

On April 24, 1915, Ottoman authorities arrested Armenian intellectuals and community leaders in Constantinople—the start of a systematic campaign of violence against the Armenian community. In the years that followed, one and a half million Armenians were deported, massacred, or marched to their deaths—a tragedy that forever affected generations of Armenian families.

As we join nations around the world in remembering this painful history, we also reflect on the resilience and resolve of the Armenian people. So many of those who survived were forced to begin new lives in new lands—including the United States. Here and around the world, the Armenian people have met the evil of hate with hope. They rebuilt their communities. They nurtured their families and preserved their culture. They strengthened our nation. They also told their stories—and those of their ancestors—to remember and to ensure that genocide like the one that happened 108 years ago is never again repeated.

Today, let us renew this pledge. Let us recommit to speaking out against hate, standing up for human rights, and preventing atrocities. And together, let us redouble our efforts to forge a better future—one where all people can live with dignity, security, and respect.

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