SERJ TANKIAN TO LAUNCH A CAMPAIGN FOR RECOGNITION OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
PanARMENIAN.Net
09.04.2009 00:59 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Known as one of the most outspoken activists in the
music community, Serj Tankian, along with the help of Tom Morello and
the Axis of Justice, is launching a campaign for the recognition of the
Armenian Genocide to commemorate the annual global day of remembrance
for victims of the human rights atrocity on April 24th. Tankian,
a solo artist and visionary frontman for multi-platinum rock band
System Of A Down, has posted a video on YouTube 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.
A powerful indictment of the Turkish government’s denials, the video,
which also features comments from Morello, The Coup’s Boots Riley,
and Congressman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), asks viewers to call the White
House to implore President Obama to put an end to Turkey’s well-funded
whitewash and officially recognize the Armenian Genocide. The video
was directed by Ara Soudjian, who also directed Tankian’s "Money" clip.
"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
says. "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. President Obama is the
best-positioned American president in generations to help bring about
real change to how America and the international community confront
mass inhumanity, and our best hope to bring the peoples of the world
together to end the cycle of genocide."
Tankian has also written an accompanying editorial that outlines
the history of the Armenian Genocide and passionately explains his
personal connection to it.
All four of Tankian’s grandparents survived the brutal massacre.