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Politics Feb 10, 2023
Map of the internationally recognised Azerbaijani-Armenian state border, marked in red. | Photo by Golden/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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The Los Angeles City Council passed a resolution Friday supporting legislation that would condemn Azerbaijan’s attacks on territory held by Armenia.
Los Angeles County is home to the largest population of Armenians in the United States, with an estimated 214,628 residents in the county, according to the 2011 American Community Survey.
Azerbaijan has engaged in attacks on the Lachin corridor, which connects the small Republic of Artsakh to Armenia, according to the resolution. It called the attacks “illegal, unprovoked and repeated.”
The resolution called for the support of any federal legislation that would result in:
— Diplomatic action to ensure safe passage through the Lachin corridor
— U.S. involvement in humanitarian assistance to Artsakh
— Action holding the regime in Azerbaijan accountable
A number of high school students were in the council chamber on Friday to speak out in support of Armenia, earning the praise of Council President Paul Krekorian and other council members.
“We are about to witness the next Armenian genocide occur before our very eyes if the United States government and others around the world do not act to hold Azerbaijan accountable, to demand that aid get through and to ensure the self-determination of these people of Artsakh in their democratic homeland — of which they are the indigenous population,” said Krekorian, the first Armenian American to hold the position.
In late January, anti-Armenian posters were found in Beverly Hills.
“This is not just a matter of international affairs for us,” Krekorian said. “For the Armenian people of Los Angeles, this is a matter of whether or not we as a city are going to tolerate racial division and hatred or not.”
