GOP debate at Reagan Library met with protesters calling for US action in Azerbaijan

Dave Mason, Ventura County Star
·2 min read
Participants hold signs and the Armenian flag as a man leads chants demanding action against Azerbaijan during a rally Tuesday near the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum in Simi Valley.
Participants hold signs and the Armenian flag as a man leads chants demanding action against Azerbaijan during a rally Tuesday near the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum in Simi Valley.

A passionate Simi Valley crowd chanted in support of Armenians in Azerbaijan during a protest down the hill from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum on the eve of the Republican presidential debate.

Motorists driving on Madera Road honked their horns Tuesday in support of the 100 or so protesters standing with signs and a bullhorn at the foot of Presidential Drive. Seven candidates vying for the Republican nomination were slated to participate in the debate Wednesday at the library.

As the sun began to set, Armenian Americans and their supporters called on GOP candidates to demand the Biden administration take action, including sanctions against Azerbaijan.

The Armenian American protesters accuse the southwest Asian nation of human rights violations and genocide through an economic blockade to Nagorno-Karabakh, known to Armenians as Artsakh.

“Stop the genocide now,” rally leaders shouted into a bullhorn, and the crowd repeated. Other chants included slogans on the rally signs: “Biden supports genocide” to “Republicans, speak up!”

Participants in a rally Tuesday near the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum in Simi Valley hold up signs in support of the 120,000 ethnic Armenians they say are being hurt by Azerbaijan.
Participants in a rally Tuesday near the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum in Simi Valley hold up signs in support of the 120,000 ethnic Armenians they say are being hurt by Azerbaijan.

At one point, various participants held up numbers saying “120,000” to represent the number of Armenians they say are being hurt by Azerbaijan while the U.S. does nothing.

“The Biden administration has failed its constituents!” Lar Tabakian of the Armenian Youth Federation told the crowd, speaking into a bullhorn. “Your recognition of the 1915 Armenian genocide (in the Ottoman Empire) is worthless, and you’re doing nothing to stop the genocide 2023!”

Tabakian’s voice grew louder.

“The Biden administration is complicit in another Holocaust, another Uganda,” he shouted, standing a few feet from a Reagan Library sign promoting its Auschwitz exhibit. “For the past three years, you have done nothing more than use empty words.”

Raffi H. Hamparian, chairman of the Armenian National Committee of America, said President Joe Biden should sanction Azerbaijan and end its military aid among other demands.

Dave Mason covers East County for the Ventura County Star. He can be reached at dave.mason@vcstar.com or 805-437-0323.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: GOP debate protest calls for support of Armenians in Azerbaijan