Senator Portantino’s Statement on the 109th Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide

Sacramento, California – Senator Anthony J. Portantino (D – Burbank) released the following statement regarding the Senate’s commemoration of the Armenian Genocide. “I am honored to have joined my colleagues to commemorate the 109th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide on the Senate Floor and to reaffirm our commitment to ensuring that California continues to recognize the first Genocide of the 20th Century. Genocide recognition is more important than ever, as Armenians of Artsakh have experienced unimaginable terror – including war, illegal blockade, and ethnic cleansing. And for the first time in thousands of years, Artsakh is left without its indigenous ethnic Armenian people. One can argue strongly that because the first genocide perpetrated against ethnic Armenians went unpunished a century ago, essentially the same violent people are repeating their illegal and inhuman acts today. Turkey and Azerbaijan continue their aggression against Armenians and Armenia with attacks on the border and repeated and regular genocidal rhetoric. There is no question that the US government should expand assistance to Artsakh’s forcibly displaced Armenians and it must do more to hold accountable those who enact such violence on a peaceful people. We have a moral obligation to not only condemn all genocides and violations of human rights, but to also continue to demand justice — because there will not be peace without justice.”