The members of System Of A Down have not always seen eye to eye where politics are concerned, but they’ve come together today to issue a statement regarding an international crisis centered on their fellow ethnic Armenians. Early Sunday morning, military forces in Azerbaijan began attacking Artsakh, a nation on Armenia’s border that won independence from Azerbaijan in the ’90s after years of war. Artsakh’s population mostly comprises ethnic Armenians, and since the 1994 ceasefire, Armenia has often protected Artsakh against various small-scale Azerbaijan offenses. This time Turkey — which, as the Ottoman Empire, carried out a genocide against 1.5 million Armenians during World War I — is supporting Azerbaijan, and international organizations aren’t stepping up to stop the advance.

In response, System Of A Down, whose members are all of Armenian heritage, have issued this statement:

The world turned a blind eye during:
· the Armenian Genocide in 1915
· the mass killings and pogroms of the 1980s and ‘90s
· Azerbaijan’s invasion of Armenia in 2016

Now the world is turning a blind eye to 150,000 landlocked civilians under attack by Azerbaijan and Turkey.

SOAD has always stood for justice and peace. This notion comes from the suffering and injustice done to our people over centuries. Erdogan’s denialist Turkey is continuing the work of its genocidal ancestors, and allied with petro-corrupt Azerbaijan, are firing American made F-16 missiles into Artsakh and parts of Armenia killing soldiers as well as civilians. The world seems too busy with Covid and politics to care, but we HAVE to do something as this is an existential threat for our people and the first Christian Nation.

Since it seems difficult for the media, international organizations, and world powers to call out Azerbaijan on its war mongering, ethnic cleansing, and killing of innocent civilians, let’s help them. We are calling on everyone to join our efforts. Here is how…

Donate:
Armenia Fund: armeniafund.ejoinme.org/donate
Armenian Wounded Heroes Fund: armenianwoundedheroes.com/donate
1000plusam: www.1000plus.am
Armenian American Medical Society: aamsc.org/make-a-donation
Aid Beyond Borders: aidbeyondborders.org

Sign Petitions:
Armenian Rights Watch – Stop Against Azerbaijan and Turkey’s War Crimes: bit.ly/ArmenianRightsWatch
ANCA – Cut Off Military Aid to Baku: bit.ly/CutMilitaryAid
ANCA – Strengthen US-Armenia Ties: anca.org/action-alerts
WhiteHouse.gov – Condemn Azeri and Turkish Aggression: bit.ly/CondemnAggression