SYDNEY: Serj Tankian – the lead vocalist of Grammy Award-winning band System of a Down – was interviewed by ABC Triple J Radio’s The Racket program, where he discussed Artsakh and the importance of Australian and international action to help Nagorno Karabakh’s indigenous Armenians, reported the Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU).
Beirut-born but now Armenian-American, Tankian is also a resident of New Zealand, where he has closely collaborated to promote Armenian issues along with the Armenian National Committee of New Zealand.
Tankian used the interview to encourage listeners to join the Armenian-Australian community in signing the Australian Parliamentary Petition, calling for Federal Government action in support of the Armenians of Artsakh, as well as recognition of the people’s rights to self-determination in the face of the existential threat they face by the twin neo-Ottoman dictatorships of Azerbaijan and Turkey.
He said: “In Australia right now, there’s a petition going on in parliament to recognise Artsakh so that in the future something like this will be less likely to occur. Go to www.anc.org.au and find the link to the petition to help.”
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SIGN PETITION BY CLICKING HERE
Some of the other things Tankian told Triple J’s highly engaged audience include:
“In the 1920s, Joseph Stalin decided to give these lands [Artsakh/Nagorno-Karabakh] to Azerbaijan … these lands [Artsakh] were never really Azeri lands…”
“Azerbaijan attacked with impunity … it was a David and Goliath situation … Not only did they [Azerbaijan] attack with missiles, bombs and modern technology, but they also attacked with propaganda… disinformation…”
“It’s a difficult thing for Armenians around the world to watch yet another injustice after a hundred years happen to our people by some of the same people that are still denying that the Genocide occurred… Turkey still denies the role of their ancestors…”
“The media was just doing this false parity because the dictatorship of Azerbaijan and the dictatorship of Erdogan’s Turkey was basically saying ‘oh no, we’re not the ones who started the war, Armenia did’, even though they’re the ones who did (so) with impunity….”
“The guys from System of a Down … we were all upset about it. We all jumped on board. We made (the new songs dedicated to Artsakh awareness) happen in a miraculous amount of time…”
“In Australia right now, there’s a petition going on in parliament… to recognise Artsakh… so that in the future something like this [the war] will be less likely to occur. Go to www.anc.org.au and find the link to the petition to help…”
ANC-AU Executive Director, Haig Kayserian thanked Tankian for his advocacy.
“Serj Tankian continues to use his considerable profile to bring attention to the plight of the indigenous Armenians of the Republic of Artsakh, and we thank him for using this interview with an Australian audience to continue his important mission,” Kayserian said.
LISTEN TO THE FULL INTERVIEW BY CLICKING HERE
SIGN PETITION BY CLICKING HERE
Armenian National Committee of Australia