Bay Area's Armenian community rallies against humanitarian crisis in Artsakh

On Sunday, September 10th, demonstrators gathered at Union Square in San Francisco to rally in support of Armenian sovereignty, and to critique the Azerbaijani government’s blockade of Nagorno Karabakh, known as Artsakh by ethnic Armenians.

Demonstrators aimed to draw attention to the growing humanitarian crisis in Artsakh, a historically ethnic Armenian autonomous republic currently within the borders of Azerbaijan. On December 12th, 2022, the Azerbaijani government erected a blockade of the Lachin corridor, also known as “the road of life,” the only road connecting Artsakh to neighboring Armenia, which halted the transportation of food and medical supplies into the region. The U.S. based NGO, Genocide Watch, has flagged the 275-day blockade for showing an early indication of the “genocidal process.”

In Union Square, Sunday, many demonstrators called for the end of the blockade, with some carrying signs that read “Stop a Second Genocide.” Demonstrators urged the U.S. Government and President Biden to directly intervene in the conflict and to end the Biden administration’s military aid to Azerbaijan which includes small arms sales.

Demonstrators also expressed their concerns over a growing militarization of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border as well as a Turkish buildup of troops along Armenia’s western border, with some worried that a large-scale invasion of Armenia may be immanent.

Both local and national Armenian American organizations took part in the demonstration, which was organized by the Bay Area Artsakh Task Force, an Armenian advocacy group. Included were clergy from the Cavalry Armenian Congregational Church, the founder of the Hidden Road Initiative, Nanor Balabanian, and the chairman of Armenian National Committee of America, Raffi Hamparian. Aaron Peskin, the President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors also spoke at the event.

Independent of the Bay Area Artsakh Task Force's event, activists dropped pro-Armenian banners across San Francisco, including a pair that prominently read "Defend Artsakh" at the entrance of the Yerba Buena tunnel on the Bay Bridge.

As of September 12th, 2023, reports suggest that Azerbaijan may end its blockade of the Lachin corridor on the condition that the ethnic Armenian government of Artsakh allows Azerbaijani aid groups be admitted to the region alongside other humanitarian convoys.