Armenian Americans rally at Reagan Library ahead of GOP presidential debate
SIMI VALLEY, Calif. - The night before the second GOP presidential debate, a rally organized by the Armenian-American community was held outside the Reagan Library in Simi Valley.
The rally called out the Biden Administration for not doing enough to help the indigenous Christian Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh, also referred to as "Artsakh."
Officials say 120,000 people are now displaced and fleeing from the region.
They feel they have no choice but to evacuate to Armenia– after Azerbaijan’s intense military attack on the civilian population last week— following a nearly 10-month-long blockade of humanitarian aid to the region.
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"I think it's really painful to note that this genocide against Artsakh Armenians, is unfolding before our eyes. And I think what hurts even more is that there have been many promises to the entire world that nothing like this sort of humanitarian catastrophe would ever again happen," said Areni Hamparian with the Armenian Youth Federation.
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She continued to say, "We speak of. You know the Armenian Genocide in the holocaust as if it was another time. But we're seeing that replay again and again and again. And it's especially painful to know that minimal coverage and minimal assistance has been provided to the people of Artsakh."
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Rally participants urged GOP candidates to demand the following actions from the Biden Administration:
- Direct intervention to stop what they say is a genocide of the Armenian people.
- Halting U.S. military aid to Azerbaijan.
- Launching emergency U.S. humanitarian deliveries to Artsakh.
- Enforcing U.S. and U.N. sanctions on Azerbaijan.