Serj Tankian, along with Tom Morello and the Axis of Justice, has launched a campaign encouraging government leaders to recognize the Armenian Genocide and commemorate the yearly global day of remembrance for victims of the human rights atrocity on April 24, according to a press release.
Tankian has posted a YouTube video on the Axis of Justice website in which he and other activists urge President Obama to affirm his pledge and officially recognize the Armenian Genocide, which took place in 1915, just after the start of World War I. The video, which also features comments from Morello, The Coup’s Boots Riley and Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA), asks viewers to call the White House to implore President Obama to put an end to what Tankian describes as Turkey’s well-funded whitewash and officially recognize the systematic killing of more than a million Armenians, according to the release.
“Last year, Barack Obama noted that many of the same brutal tactics employed today in Darfur are the same as those used by the Ottoman authorities against defenseless Armenians back in 1915,” Tankian said in a statement. “As we approach the global day of remembrance on April 24th, we look to both the President and Congress to stand up for what’s right; to speak against the Armenian Genocide and all genocides at the level of American values, and to never again allow the United States to be dragged down to the level of Turkey’s threats.”
Tankian and Morello will discuss the issue during an Axis of Justice radio show which will air April 17 on KPFK 90.7 FM in Los Angeles and on Sirius Satellite Radio.
Tankian also has written an editorial that outlines the history of the Armenian Genocide and shares the personal story of one of his family members who survived the massacre; all four of Tankian’s grandparents survived the Genocide.