On Friday April 8, despite the rain, thousands of Los Angeles Armenians literally took it to the streets, and held #ArtsakhStrong Protest rally in front of Republic of Azerbaijan Consulate General of Los Angeles.
The angry yet well-disciplined and peaceful protesters closed Wilshire Boulevard at Gansville just west of 405 Freeway. The peaceful sit-in rally was covered major media outlets sending a powerful message that world Armenians and friends are not going to sit idly by when Azerbaijani forces commit aggression against their freedom-loving people of Nagorno Karabakh – Artsakh Republic.
Since April 1, Azerbaijan has launched a full-scale offensive attack along the border of the Armenian-populated Nagorno-Karabakh Republic in violation of a ceasefire agreement signed in 1994. These attacks have been the most violent since the agreement was signed over two decades ago.
“We condemn Azerbaijan’s continued vicious attacks and war crimes against the peaceful civilian population of Nagorno-Karabakh and fully support the independent Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh and its right to self-determination,” said Joseph Kaskanian of the Armenian Youth Federation. “Although a bilateral ceasefire was declared on Tuesday, Azerbaijan still continues its attacks. The root causes of this endless cycle of violence remain, and must be protested.”
The Azerbaijani Armed Forces have targeted civilian villages and schools, killing a 12-year-old boy, as well as executing and dismembering an elderly couple.
“The Azerbaijani government is committing war crimes and severely breaching international human rights laws by shelling civilian populations and mutilating bodies,” Kaskanian said. “The Minister of Defense of Azerbaijan, a member state of the Council of Europe, is threatening to bombard the Nagorno-Karabakh capital of Stepanakert. This is totally unacceptable.”
Friday’s demonstration, organized by the Armenian Youth Federation, aimed to protest the Azerbaijani government, as well as express the Los Angeles community’s solidarity with the people of Nagorno-Karabakh.
