Dear Governor Murphy:
I am writing to express my disappointment in learning that you made a statement on Twitter about the “Khojaly Genocide,” which distorts history. Calling the events in Khojaly a genocide makes a mockery of the word genocide, diminishing the pain and suffering of peoples who have been subjected to genocides. This is a clear case of the perpetrator victim-blaming in an attempt to white wash their own history.
This rhetoric completely ignores the deliberate attacks on Armenian religious and cultural sites, as well as the hundreds of thousands of Christian Armenians who were viciously attacked, killed, or driven out of Azerbaijan.
I urge you to remove and apologize for this statement, which is very hurtful to Armenians living in New Jersey and worldwide, especially in light of Azerbaijan’s systemic persecution and attempted annihilation of Armenians that is most recently evidenced by the 90+ days genocidal blockade against the Armenians of Artsakh.
I look forward to sharing your leadership on this issue with my friends and family.