By Harut Sassounian
In the heated atmosphere of the U.S. presidential campaign, former President Donald Trump and current Vice President Kamala Harris, have issued statements to Armenian-American voters seeking their support.
On his “Truth Social” media platform last week, Trump issued a statement accusing Harris of doing “nothing as 120,000 Armenian Christians were horrifically persecuted and forcibly displaced in Artsakh. Christians around the World will not be safe if Kamala Harris is President of the United States. When I am President, I will protect persecuted Christians, I will work to stop violence and ethnic cleansing, and we will restore PEACE between Armenia and Azerbaijan.”
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On the other hand, the Harris-Waltz campaign issued the following statement on September 23, 2024: “We must never forget the Armenian Genocide, when an estimated 1.5 million Armenians were deported, massacred, and marched to their deaths. It is a tragedy that continues to shape the identity of the Armenian people…. I remain committed to a lasting peace between Armenia and its neighbors that respects sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity. The right for Armenians displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh to return safely to their homes is vital to restoring dignity to the Armenian people and stability to the region. I will continue to support Armenia in its efforts to strengthen democracy and foster stability in the region….”
Trump’s statement was not issued by the Trump Campaign office and not posted on his official website. It was posted only on his social media which makes it less official. Harris’ statement was issued on her campaign letterhead, but not posted on her official website. Trump used the term Artsakh, while Harris referred to the region as Nagorno-Karabagh.
It is a positive development that both U.S. presidential candidates issued statements making Armenia and Artsakh a part of the national electoral discourse.
It is no secret that many Armenian-Americans have been disappointed with both candidates. Trump did not lift a finger as Azerbaijan was attacking and occupying most of Artsakh in 2020, while he was President. Harris did nothing as Vice President in 2023, when 120,000 Artsakh Armenians were forcibly displaced. They are both to be blamed for their inaction.
To pressure Trump and Harris to make statements on Armenian issues, the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) had conducted a lengthy public campaign condemning them for their inaction in defense of Artsakh and giving them a failing grade.
Trump as president had dramatically increased military aid to Baku, breaking the established precedent of parity in U.S. military assistance to both Armenia and Azerbaijan. During Azerbaijan’s occupation of most of Artsakh in 2020, he took no action in the face of Azerbaijan’s war crimes, using prohibited cluster munitions against Armenian civilians, recruiting Islamist jihadist terrorists to fight against Artsakh, allowing Turkey to deploy F-16 jets in Azerbaijan during the war, thus violating the U.S. end-user agreement, refusing to recognize the Armenian Genocide and actively blocking its congressional remembrance.
ANCA is now asking Trump to support Artsakh Armenians’ right of return by urging the Republican House Speaker to back pro-Artsakh legislation. Furthermore, ANCA asked Trump’s Vice Presidential candidate, Senator JD Vance, to cosponsor similar measures in the Senate.
ANCA is also criticizing Harris for not saying one critical word when Azerbaijan completed the occupation of Artsakh and expulsion of the 120,000 Artsakh Armenians in 2023. Since then, she has done nothing to ensure Artsakh Armenians’ right to return, support sanctioning Azerbaijan’s officials for war crimes, and help release Armenian prisoners of war and Artsakh leaders detained in Baku.
Rather than issuing meaningless campaign promises which are quickly forgotten after the election, Armenian-Americans expect credible action from the candidates. There are things they can do and say in the last days of the campaign, even though they should have said and done them long ago.
Since both candidates failed to defend the interests of Armenia and Artsakh when it really counted, Armenians should stop expecting outsiders, no matter who they are, to help resolve their issues. No one has come forward to save Armenia during our several millennia-long history and it is not going to happen now nor in the future. The only reason why Armenian Americans have the right to demand candidates to support their issues is that these candidates are asking them for their votes. Armenians should not give them their votes, unless they get something concrete in return, not just empty promises.
As polls indicate that the two presidential candidates are in an extremely tight race, this provides an opportunity for smaller voting blocks like Armenians to tip the balance in key swing states, including Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
I leave it up to each reader to make up his or her mind as to who to vote for.