Reverse Mayor Walsh’s pro-Azeri “Khojaly Commemoration Day” Proclamation

This week, Mayor Marty Walsh signed a proclamation declaring February 26, 2021 as “Khojaly Commemoration Day” in Boston (see below).

The mayor’s proclamation makes many one-sided statements denigrating Armenians, in reference to the first war over Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh), while ignoring not only the long and complicated history of the conflict, but also whitewashing Azerbaijan’s persecution of Armenians over the last hundred years.

The mayor’s proclamation is most disturbing in light of Azerbaijan’s and Turkey’s recent war on Artsakh, from September 27 to November 9, 2020, where an estimated five thousand Armenians were killed and a hundred thousand Armenians turned into refugees.

Amnesty International has confirmed that Turkey and Azerbaijan indiscriminately fired cluster bombs and other prohibited munitions into residential areas of Armenia and Artsakh – in clear violation of international law.  Such war crimes, the torture and killing of Armenian POWs and civilians, the use of Syrian mercenaries in the war, all in the midst of the global pandemic are evidence of the brutality of the Turkish and Azerbaijani governments. Mayor Walsh’s proclamation adds insult to injury to Armenians everywhere.

Please take a moment to contact Mayor Walsh and the City Council to express your disappointment in the mayor’s decision to issue such a biased and hurtful proclamation and ask that he rescind the proclamation immediately. Once you have taken this action, please encourage your family and friends, especially those who live in the Greater Boston area, to do the same.

Please email and phone Mayor Walsh’s office expressing your outrage. Contact information and suggested scripts are below.

Call Mayor Walsh

Sample Phone Script:

Hello, my name is [Your Name] and I am calling to express my disappointment in Mayor Walsh’s decision to issue a one-sided “Khojaly Commemoration Day” proclamation condemning Armenians for massacring Azerbaijanis. The proclamation painted a very one-sided picture of this Nagorno-Karabagh conflict. I urge the mayor to rescind this proclamation, which is very hurtful to Armenians, especially in light of Azerbaijan’s brutal war against Armenians last fall.

.@marty_walsh – Rescind the biased Khojaly proclamation, which misrepresents history, denigrates #Armenians, and is particularly hurtful following Azerbaijan’s recent war against #Artsakh and #Armenia.

Click here to send an email with a pre-written message to Mayor Walsh.

If your browser does not support this functionality, use the following email address and the text below. If you wish, feel free to customize the subject line and letter.

Here is the list of email addresses:

mayor@boston.gov

Here is a sample subject line: Rescind the biased and hurtful Khojaly Proclamation

Here is a sample letter:

Dear Mayor Walsh and Boston City Council members,

I was disappointed to learn that Mayor Walsh issued a “Khojaly Commemoration Day” proclamation, condemning Armenians for massacring Azerbaijanis in 1992. His proclamation painted a very one-sided picture of the Nagorno-Karabagh war, and completely ignored the hundreds of thousands of Armenians who were viciously attacked, killed, or driven out of Azerbaijan. I urge you to rescind this proclamation, which is very hurtful to Armenians, especially in light of Azerbaijan’s brutal war on Armenians just a few months ago.