LOS ANGELES – The streets of Los Angeles were blanketed with the colors red, blue, and orange on October 11 during the Artsakh under Attack: March for Victory demonstration organized by the Pan-Armenian Council of Western USA. The Pan-Armenian Council is a broad coordinating council of Armenian-American organizations in Los Angeles, including the Armenian churches, political parties, cultural organizations, and philanthropic groups. The March for Victory that commenced at 3 p.m. at Pan Pacific Park culminated with a series of speakers and performances in front of the Turkish Consulate on Wilshire Blvd in Beverly Hills.
Roughly 100,000 Angelenos, according to Los Angeles Police Department estimates, were in attendance protesting the joint Turkish-Azerbaijani aggression and human rights violations committed against the people of the Artsakh Republic that began on September 27. Since then, joint Turkish-Azerbaijani forces have bombed several civilian cities resulting in over 400 Armenian military casualties, and at least 31 civilian deaths.
Armenians throughout the diaspora have been steadily mobilizing, organizing marches, protests, and fundraisers, and educating others about the history of this conflict with steadfast determination to achieve justice, and Los Angeles Armenians have been particularly active.
On October 11, Armenians young and old marched the streets of Los Angeles. Among those marching were Raya DerBedrossian and Tigran Sarkissian.
Tigran, a 17-year-old Glendale High School student, who had been leading chants like “Shame on Aliyev” and “Shame on Turkey,” continued marching as he passionately shared his thoughts. He said: “A ceasefire that’s not going to be respected is not what we need. We need the world to come together and stop Erdogan and Aliyev from killing innocent Armenians. Our local representatives have done a great job of bringing attention to the issue, but we need to have a greater voice in the media through events like this where people come together. We need the Armenian diaspora to come together. We no longer have the privilege to live in our own lands; the majority of it has been taken away. We’re all in different corners of the world and we all want to represent Armenia the best we can.”
