“SOS Artsakh!” rally to be held in Washington D.C. on Sept. 1

A march and protest will be held Friday, Sept. 1 during the 89th AYF-YOARF Olympics weekend in Washington, D.C. The protest will kick off “SOS Artsakh!” demonstrations around the world led by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) to demand justice for Artsakh on the occasion of its Sept. 2 independence anniversary.

Protesters will assemble at the Olympics Renaissance Hotel Headquarters at 1 p.m. and march at 1:30 p.m. to Lafayette Park, just north of the White House. The protest starts at 2 p.m. 

Signs and flags will be provided for the march and protest, where demands will be directed to U.S. government officials, urging them to act now to end Azerbaijan’s genocidal blockade of Artsakh’s 120,000 men, women and children; airlift humanitarian aid immediately; stop military aid to Azerbaijan; sanction the reckless Aliyev regime for its unpunished war crimes; and champion Artsakh’s self-determination rights.

“Olympics weekend always brings our community together to celebrate the AYF and its accomplishments, which include the AYF’s tireless Hai Tahd work,” said ARF Eastern Region Central Committee chair Ani Tchaghlasian and AYF-YOARF Eastern Region Central Executive chair Nareg Mkrtschjan. “We know that every effort will be made by those attending Olympics weekend to be at the ‘SOS Artsakh!’ protest to support our brothers and sisters in Artsakh.”

Additional details and updates can be found on the AYF-YOARF Eastern Region’s Facebook and Instagram pages and will be available in next week’s Armenian Weekly.

ARF Eastern US Central Committee

ARF Eastern US Central Committee

The ARF Eastern Region Central Committee’s headquarters is the Hairenik Building in Watertown, Mass. The ARF Eastern Region’s media and bookstore are also housed in this building, as are various other important Armenian community organizations. The ARF Eastern Region holds a convention annually and calls various consultative meetings and conferences throughout the year.

9 Comments

  1. EVERY SINGLE ARMENIAN ATTENDING THIS MARCH AND PROTEST NEEDS TO MOVE BACK TO ARMENIA! THESE PEOPLE ARE HYPOCRITES! LEAVING ARMENIA BECAUSE IT’S A HELL HOLE LIVING THERE BUT THEN THEY WANT TO SUPPORT IT FROM THE OUTSIDE?! THE SIZE OF ARMENIA’S ARMY WOULD INCREASE BY X100 IF THE DIASPORA MOVED BACK TO ARMENIA! SUPPORT ARMENIA AND ARTSAKH BY RELOCATING TO ARMENIA AND ARTSAKH!

  2. This is a waste of time and energy. It’s too late to do anything now. Major geopolitical shifts have begun across the world, and we Armenians effectively maneuvered Armenia right out of contention and straight into a dead end. We are not in a position to control, or to even influence events. Therefore, what will happen, will happen. And whatever happens, it will be our collective fault. If any of you reading this has at any time spoken against Serj Sargsyan, Robert Kocharyan or Russia, you have contributed to what Armenia and Artsakh are going through today. You got what you wanted in 2018 – a Western financed “democratic” revolution. You then got what you deserved in 2020 – a historic defeat.

    People deserve the governments they have. There are no free meals in politics. Political illiteracy has a high cost. Revolutions end up eating their children. Karma is a you know what…

    • MARCHING IN THE STREET WITH A FEW HUNDRED ARMENIANS IS NOT GOING TO DO SQUAT! GUNS GUNS GUNS IS WHAT KHYRIMYAN HAIRIK SAID OVER 100 YEARS AGO. WHY IS THIS SO HARD TO UNDERSTAND? IN 2023, GUNS GUNS GUNS NEEDS TO BE DRONES DRONES DRONES! MISSILES MISSILES MISSILES! ARMENIA MUST HAVE AND BE THE STRONGEST MILITARY IN THE REGION. SINCE IT IS TINY, IT MUST HAVE NUCLEAR WEAPONS TO KEEP EVERYONE IN CHECK!!!

  3. US is more interested in creating and preserving a safe corridor for gas pipelines and the main goal is to push Russia out of the region. If a peace treaty is signed between Azeris and Armenians, there won’t be a need for Russian presence in Armenia, let along NK. Armenia will be left to the good graces of their neighbors and it’s future survival will be questionable. With no resources of value to offer to world, Armenia can only survive as a Russian outpost. These rallies are only lip service by local politicians. This is the reality.

  4. It’s about time.
    What’s needed is 120.000 demonstrators in LA , with all the congressmen and senators and governors included; to protest in front of Azeri consulate, with world wide coverage.
    Where have the Armenian parties , ANCA, the Assembly , and religious organizations been last 8 months. All we got was lip services from the politicians.
    Same caliber demonstrations and political activism should go on in most capitals
    of the world, demanding sanctions and boycotting Azeri trade.
    Where are the Whole page Op ads, Tv coverage of Artsakh blockade?
    It’s already too late, and soon we will mourn the dead.

    • Dear Gary,
      We know that the CIA, the State Department and the White House are pro-Turkish and pro-Azerbaijani… We know that Azerbaijan and Turkey are sources of vital energy supplies to Israel and Europe… We know that the news media is the US is controlled by a handful of corrupt oligarchs… We know that both Democrat and Republican parties are in the pockets of a handful of “donors”… So, knowing what we know about the political system we live in, what makes you think US senators and congressmen will do anything more than give us Armenians lip service? US officials have ONLY given us lip service. The only other thing they have given us is US funded NGOs in Armenia that got us to where we are today. Armenians need to wake up…

  5. Brothers and sisters!
    This isn’t the time for silly protests. We democratically elected our great and glorious leader Nikol Pashinyan not once but twice for one purpose – to free Armenia from those oppressive and utterly undemocratic Russians. Russia wants to takeover the whole world and stop all people from being westernized and happy. Putler (i.e. Putin+Hitler=Putler) must be stropped now! Armenia must be freed from Russia now! Our democratically elected leader started the process in 2018 with the help of all of us, but the poor man is not done yet. So please brothers and sisters stop this protesting nonsense and just let our duly elected democratic and enlightened prime minister finish his work. You can all protest Armenia’s disappearance from the world map afterwards. People, please, now is simply not the time! Thank you!

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