System of a Down frontman Serj Tankian has offered some cautious support for presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
This came after the politician released a statement decrying the expulsion of 120,000 ethnic Armenians from the Artsakh region of Azerbaijan. The central Asian nation has a long-standing territorial dispute with neighboring Armenia.
This came after the politician released a statement decrying the expulsion of 120,000 ethnic Armenians from the Artsakh region of Azerbaijan
All four members of System of a Down are of Armenian descent, and they often speak out on issues related to the global Armenian diaspora.
In a statement released on Dec. 28, Kennedy called on the U.S. and the global community to exert diplomatic pressure on Azerbaijan so the Armenians of Artsakh can return to their historic homeland.
"I appreciate the statement of support by (Robert F. Kennedy Jr.) but can’t help wonder why he couldn’t have voiced it as a private citizen before running for office when numerous orgs reached out to him for the exact reason," Tankian said in a tweet on Dec. 29. "That said it’s a very strong statement and commitment that we will hold him to."
The frontman and Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi recently worked on a one-off track called "Deconstruction" with Gibson CEO Cesar Gueikian, who is also of Armenian descent. The company also auctioned off a painting made by Tankian and a one-of-a-kind Les Paul Standard adorned with the artwork.
All proceeds from the project were earmarked for the Armenia Fund, which provides humanitarian assistance like health care and disaster relief programs to people in the country and other Armenian communities worldwide.
'It’s a very strong statement and commitment that we will hold him to,' the frontman said.
Check out Kennedy's statement below, as transcribed by Loudwire:
"Over 100 years ago, the Ottoman Empire perpetrated the first genocide of the modern era when it murdered a million and a half ethnic Armenians. That ethnic cleansing wiped out thousands of years of Armenian presence in Anatolia. Today, the oldest of all the Armenian territories is now the victim of an ethnic cleansing campaign. This time it's Artsakh, also known as Nagorno-Karabakh. During the Soviet era, the Kremlin forcibly incorporated this Christian territory into Muslim Azerbaijan. Artsakh had been Orthodox Christian and Armenian for over 1000 years. It has one of the most beautiful cathedrals in the world," Kennedy said.
"Beginning in 2020, Azerbaijan ruthlessly launched an ethnic cleansing campaign against this peaceful and peace-loving people. It systematically bombarded population centers with cluster bombs and missiles. Then in September, Azerbaijan launched an unprovoked invasion and expelled all 120,000 ethnic Armenians. While the world was focused on Gaza and Israel with indignation and outrage from every direction, we heard almost nothing about this mass expulsion of the entire population of one of the oldest Armenian states on the planet. Empty condemnations of this ethnic cleansing campaign are not enough. Unlike the 1915 Genocide, this one is reversible," the candidate added.
Tankian and the other members of System of a Down are all of Armenian descent and often speak out about issues pertaining to the group's global diaspora.
"The U.S. government needs to mobilize the global community to take action to ensure the safe return of Armenians to Artsakh and to defend their right to self-determination. This is a situation where peaceful sanctions could actually work. The U.S. still has leverage in that region and it can use that power to mobilize all of the nations in that region to reverse this humanitarian tragedy. We should also seek the removal of blockades in Armenia by Turkey and Azerbaijan. Armenia is a landlocked nation that needs access to ports and to the surrounding countries," Kennedy said.
"As President of the United States, I will use diplomacy, our moral authority, our economic leverage and sanctions to restore Armenia to a nation of peace and justice. I want to commit this country to the restoration of the sovereignty of Armenia and Artsakh and to the restoration of its territory. I want to do this peacefully. Instead of starting another war somewhere, I'd like to stop one."
