Flyers denying Armenian Genocide found in Glendale
A number of fliers containing hateful speech regarding the Armenian Genocide were found posted near a church in Glendale Friday morning, prompting widespread outrage from the community.
The fliers, which were found on light poles near St. Mary's Armenian Apostolic Church in Glendale, contained language denying the genocide of Armenian people during World War I.
In response to the discovery of the fliers, Glendale Mayor Ardy Kassakhian issued a statement denouncing the hateful act.
"As mayor of Glendale, I'm very disturbed and upset that speech inciting violence against Armenians has visited our city by way of individuals vandalizing our city with hate-filled flyers," the statement said. "Our police are taking this issue seriously and will be investigating this as a hate crime. I speak for our residents and our council when I say that Glendale is not a place for hate speech against Armenians or any other group."
An image of one flyer showed that the posters were calling for the "completion of the Armenian Genocide."
The flyers are similar to those posted months ago in Beverly Hills, which called on Turkey and Azerbaijan to "wipe Armenia off the map," prior to a scheduled demonstration by the Armenian Youth Federation in the area, in which they were protesting Azerbaijan's blockade of Artsakh, which has deprived the region of access to food, fuel, medicine and other supplies for an extensive period of time, according to the Armenian National Committee of America, Glendale Chapter.
"We are extremely concerned by the dissemination of these appalling anti-Armenian flyers in Glendale calling for the continuation of the Armenian Genocide," said ACNA Glendale Chapter Chair Lucy Petrosian in a statement. "We are currently working with the Glendale Police Department to ensure this act of hate is investigated, and the perpetrators are brought to justice. This is yet another tragic reminder of how the incitement and institutionalization of anti-Armenian hate by the Azerbaijani government has threatened Armenian lives no only in Artsakh and Armenia, but across the diaspora."
Glendale police Chief Manuel Cid offered support for the community in a statement following the discovery of the flyers.
"We will use all the resources available to use to fully investigate any criminal acts associated with this incident while we work in collaboration with our community leaders moving forward," he said.