Los Angeles, CA – On Tuesday, October 13, the Los Angeles Democratic Party County Central Committee, by a 139-0 vote, unanimously passed an emergency resolution (Res 003-2024) condemning Azerbaijan and Turkey of committing war crimes with their attacks on the Republic of Artsakh and Armenia and calling on the U.S. to immediately impose sanctions and halt military aid to Azerbaijan and Turkey. 

Authored and introduced by County Central Committee member Elen Asatryan, the resolution came to a floor vote with a broad group of cosponsors, including: Congressman Adam Schiff, California State Senator Anthony Portantino, California State Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, California State Assembly Majority Leader Ian Calderon, Assemblymembers Adrin Nazarian and Richard Bloom, LACDP Chair Mark Gonzales, LACDP members Suzie Abajian, Mark Ramos, Jennifer Chang and forty-six others.

“I am proud to have led the effort to bring this resolution to the floor today and I am grateful for the unanimous support it has received. As war crimes are being committed and the right of Armenians to exist peacefully in their ancestral homeland is threatened, we are on the brink of a second genocide against the Armenian people and our tax dollars are being used to commit these war crimes. If we don’t take a strong stance now to sanction Turkey and Azerbaijan, then nothing sets us apart from the international community in 1915 who stood by and watched the Armenian Genocide unfold- and did nothing to stop it,”said Asatryan.  

“It is our collective responsibility to demand and achieve concrete action to stop Azeri and Turkish war crimes and support the people of Artsakh in their right to self-determination,” she added.

During the meeting, LACDP Chair Mark Gonzales stated, “We stand in support of our brothers and sisters in Armenia and Artsakh.” LACDP Member Daniel Tamm echoed: “This is a body that must stand against oppression and aggression; we are looking at pure aggression against Artsakh and Armenia here, and I ask the body to unanimously adopt this resolution.” 

"Tonight's LACDP resolution was very meaningful for me as an Armenian American who, for decades, has fought for justice alongside many other communities here in Greater Los Angeles. I greatly appreciate this powerful act of solidarity, affirming our people's right to live in peace in their ancestral lands," stated LACDP member Suzie Abajian.

The resolution did not receive any opposition from the floor and proceeded to a vote.

The Los Angeles County Democratic Party resolution language is perhaps one of the strongest heard across the political spectrum in the U.S. The resolution acknowledges Turkey’s direct involvement in aiding Azerbaijan and the deployment of terrorist jihadist groups by Turkey to assist Azerbaijan in targeting settlements, killing and injuring civilians in Artsakh, thereby violating international humanitarian law.  

Specifically, the resolution condemns Turkey and Azerbaijan for the commission of war crimes in their attacks on Artsakh and Armenia and urges for the immediate cessation of hostilities without preconditions. The resolution calls on President Erdogan to cease providing military assistance to Azerbaijan and asks Congress and President Trump to stop providing military assistance to Turkey and Azerbaijan and to sanction both countries. 

The resolution will be delivered to the President of the United States, the Secretary of State, the Speaker and Minority Leader of the United States House of Representative, as well as the Majority Leader and Minority Leader of the United States Senate. 

As part of the party process, the resolution will be sent to the California Democratic Party and the Democratic National Committee to pass a resolution in the same regard. 

The language of the resolution as presented and Asatryan’s statement of appeal is available here.

The County Central Committee is the official governing body of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party, which develops party policies and positions, evaluates and decides on which candidates and issues to endorse in local and municipal elections, and provides a grassroots forum for the study and discussion of public policy issues and their impact.  It is also the largest local Democratic Party entity in the United States, representing nearly 2.9 million Democrats in the 88 cities and the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County – a population larger than 42 individual states. Most importantly, the County Central Committee works to educate the public and encourage the fullest possible participation of all Democratic voters.

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