Dear Friend,
What a year it’s been.
For us and all the world.
As I write from Washington in the wake of last month’s election, we’re hard at work – aligned eternally with our North Star: The survival of the Armenian nation.
Each and every one of our battles is for our beloved Armenian homeland, the fate of our sacred heritage:
And of course supporting our at-risk Syrian and Lebanese communities.
You know the stakes: The Turks – in Ankara and Baku – have their sights set on the rest of Armenia.
Starting with Syunik, Gegharkunik, Vayots Dzor, and Tavush – then Yerevan. They won’t rest until our sacred homeland is the last link in a Pan-Turkic chain stretching from Europe to Central Asia.
This is their final solution – Armenia without Armenians.
As I write this email, they’re strengthening military positions on strategic heights across sovereign Armenian territory, massing troops up and down the Azerbaijani border.
Using threats of renewed violence, Aliyev is arm-twisting Yerevan to remove Mount Ararat from Armenia’s coat-of-arms, amend Armenia’s constitution, rewrite the Armenian national anthem, and renounce the right of Armenians to return to Artsakh.
Anti-Armenian lobbyists – some of the most highly paid in the city – are spreading toxic anti-Armenian lies and hate like never before.
Your donation will help us fight these forces of darkness – enforcing sanctions, punishing war criminals, stopping arms sales to killers, supporting Armenian refugees, and realizing the right of Artsakh’s Armenians to a secure and sustainable return home.
Amid all the crises we’re facing, I am pleased to report that our standing in America – our stock as fully vested and voting stakeholders in our American democracy – rose sharply this election season, empowering our work for years to come.
On the Presidential front, both candidates spoke out in support of Artsakh – seeking eagerly (but without success) to earn our ANCA endorsement. Congressionally, 94% of our ANCA-endorsed candidates won their races.
We emerged from this cycle far stronger than we entered it.
Because of you, we’re viewed today as a smart and dynamic community able to tip key Presidential swing states and hotly contested Congressional districts:
— Rejecting pressure to lower our bar, instead leveraging our votes.
— Defend the right of Artsakh Armenians to return in safety
— Refusing to accept promises, instead holding politicians accountable.
— Declining to chase candidates, instead forcing them to chase us.
Bottom line, we elevated Artsakh as an American electoral issue – when all the world is striving to bury Artsakh forever.
We played it smart. As strategic American stakeholders.
We created concrete political costs for the politicians who crossed our community. We hit back hard against those who armed and abetted Azerbaijan’s genocide of Artsakh. We did this as fearless patriots, not as partisan political cheerleaders.
Parallel to our policy and political battles, I am also happy to share with you that our youth programs are doing better than ever, empowering more young Armenians (well over one hundred this year alone) – from high schoolers and university students to recent college graduates. Your generous support helps our next generation, an investment that will pay dividends for decades to come. (See our photos below)
Your renewed generosity this Christmas season is needed to make sure America stops arming Azerbaijan and starts supporting Armenia’s security.
Your year-end donation will provide us with the resources to rally our community, engage coalition partners, inspire faith-based friends, and mobilize newly U.S. elected leaders.
So today – with the stakes for our homeland higher than ever –please renew your support with a generous end-of-year Christmas donation supporting our progress throughout the coming year.
Accept our humble thanks and sincere wishes for a blessed New Year and a very Merry Christmas.
Sirov,
PS – As always I welcome your emails and calls – aram@anca.org, (202) 742-8700 – with your feedback, criticisms, compliments, and suggestions.
