Armenian-American Action Network Welcomes President Biden’s Recognition of the Armenian Genocide
On April 24 2021, in a historic address, President Joe R. Biden acknowledged the 1915 systematic and planned atrocities of the Ottoman Empire against its Armenian, Assyrians, Greeks and other minoritized citizens as Genocide. This came about as a result of over a century of a grassroots global struggle for formal U.S. Recognition of the Armenian Genocide. It also comes during a moment when anti-Armenian racism is on the rise because of the continued campaigns of aggression and denial of the Turkish and Azerbaijani governments.
The action by President Joe Biden is an affirmation of historical facts. Over 1.5 million Armenians, Assyrians, and Greeks were massacred and deported in a systematic campaign by the Turkish government at the time to wipe out these peoples from their homelands. We know that in order to prevent genocide, we must condemn genocide. While U.S. recognition is not justice, we believe it is one step toward justice. We thank President Biden for breaking the cycle of denial so many Armenian-Americans have had to live through year after year.
There are over 1 million Armenian-Americans in the United States today, many of them, the direct descendants of these events. When Armenians arrived here as Armenian genocide refugees they faced racism, discrimination and marginalization. These are lessons we will not forget. We know racism must be eradicated in our society in any time period, and in any form, including to this day. President Biden’s action is a step in just that. Armenian-Americans are deeply thankful to President Biden for being on the right side of history. The root of genocide is racism and we must work at its source.
Armenian-American Action Network Co-Director Sophia Armen stated “As a descendent of genocide survivors, I welcome this long awaited step towards justice for the descendents of Armenian Genocide survivors who continue to live in forced diasporas around the world. Armenian-Americans are the source of this victory, who for generations refused to give up the fight for U.S. Armenian Genocide Recognition” Our fight for justice continues on as we advocate for building futures free from racism, injustice, family separations, deportations and violence.
Armenian-Armenian Action Network would like to thank our allies for standing with us in this fight, the dozens of non-Armenian organizations and advocates who have joined our calls. Armenian-American Action Network would also like to thank the ANCA and Armenian Assembly for their tireless grassroots, governmental advocacy on this campaign. And lastly, we would like to thank every Armenian-American who has called, marched, campaigned, spoken, remembered, and thrived. This victory is because of you. This victory is for you, for us all.
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