By Alex Manoukian
As Armenian-Americans, we have long looked to our elected leaders for support in our struggle for recognition, justice, and peace in the Homeland. Kamala Harris, even during her time as a U.S. Senator from California — a state with the largest Armenian population in the country — often fell short of our expectations. While she co-sponsored resolutions recognizing the Armenian Genocide and supported demining in Artsakh, her overall track record with our community was lukewarm at best. Now, as Vice President, her approach has left many in our community feeling not just overlooked but outright abandoned.
Recognition Without Action
For over a century, Armenians have fought for global recognition of the Armenian Genocide, a horrific chapter in our history that saw the systematic extermination of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire. When the Biden-Harris administration finally recognized the genocide in 2021, it was a moment of triumph for our community. However, recognition, while symbolic, is only the first step. The real measure of a leader’s commitment to justice is what follows — and on that front, Harris has failed.
In the wake of this recognition, we felt deeply betrayed when we learned that just one day before the announcement, the Biden-Harris administration had quietly waived Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act. This crucial legislation restricts U.S. assistance to Azerbaijan, a country that has been openly hostile toward Armenia and Artsakh. The timing of this waiver sent a chilling message: while the Administration was willing to offer symbolic recognition of our past suffering, it was simultaneously empowering a nation that threatens our very existence today.
Following this, we have seen little in the way of concrete action from the Administration to hold Turkey accountable for its denial of the genocide or to address the ongoing threats faced by Armenians in the region. The recognition felt more like a box checked off than a meaningful commitment to righting a historic wrong and preventing future genocides.
The Artsakh Betrayal
The 2020 Artsakh war was a devastating blow to Armenians worldwide. Civilians were killed, homes were destroyed, and ancient cultural sites were desecrated. The Trump Administration allocated $120 million in security assistance to Azerbaijan and then turned a blind eye to the attacks and subsequent crisis, offering little more than prayers and lip service and failing to take a strong stand against the aggressors. The Biden-Harris campaign called for an immediate stop to military aid to Azerbaijan, but when they came to power a few months later, they reversed course, continuing a policy that prioritized short-term geopolitical interests over human rights.
But perhaps an even greater indicator of how President Harris would respond to Azerbaijan’s anti-Armenian aggression is her stance during the 2020 war. As a Senator from California, a state home to over a million Armenians, Harris never condemned the attacks; never responded to constituent concerns regarding the crisis. The audacity of this silence was staggering – a slap in the face of the Armenian community.
The Biden-Harris Administration’s greatest betrayal of the Armenian American community and their stated commitment to human rights came in 2023. During the 10-month Azerbaijani blockade of Artsakh, not one penny of U.S. assistance went to Artsakh to help 120,000 Armenians, already devastated from the 2020 war. Only after the September 2023, genocidal ethnic cleansing of Artsakh, did USAID Administrator Samantha Power travel to Armenia, refusing to call the situation a crisis, and offering a pittance in U.S. assistance to the forcibly displaced – less than $100/person.
A Balancing Act at Armenia’s Expense
The U.S. has strategic interests in the South Caucasus, and maintaining relationships with both Azerbaijan and Turkey is part of that equation. However, this balancing act has come at the expense of Armenian lives and sovereignty. The Biden-Harris Administration’s unwillingness to impose significant consequences on Azerbaijan and Turkey for their attacks against Artsakh and Armenia sends a clear message to Armenian American constituents: Armenian lives are secondary.
To counterbalance policies that green-lighted Azerbaijan’s genocide and ongoing aggression, the Biden-Harris now offers lip-service to Armenia, talking of “strategic partnerships,” offering $65 million in aid to Armenia this year and pledging an additional $11.9 million. This financial aid does little to address the deep wounds inflicted from 2020 to today, where lives and a homeland were lost. Armenian American votes cannot be bought off with symbolic gestures or financial crumbs.
Kamala Harris has been largely silent on these issues, which is deeply troubling for a community that once viewed her as a potential champion of their cause. Her silence suggests that when it comes to difficult choices, she, like many before her, has chosen realpolitik over the principles of human rights that she once preached.
Cultural Heritage Ignored
Beyond the immediate humanitarian crisis, there is also the ongoing destruction of Armenian cultural heritage in occupied Artsakh by Azerbaijan. Churches are being desecrated, monuments destroyed, and the historical presence of Armenians in the region is being systematically erased. Yet, there has been no strong condemnation from Harris or the Biden administration writ-large.
For a community that has already endured the trauma of genocide, the erasure of our cultural heritage is an unbearable loss. The lack of action from the U.S. government, especially from leaders like Harris who once claimed to stand with us, is disappointing.
The Way Forward
Kamala Harris’s record as Vice President, and her silence as a Senator during the 2020 Artsakh war, has left many Armenians questioning her commitment to our community. The Armenian community deserves more than symbolic gestures; we need a partner who will advocate for our survival as a nation. As it stands now, Kamala Harris does not deserve the vote of the Armenian community in the upcoming presidential election. And the same holds true for Donald Trump.
Harris, of course, can address this issue head-on. She can break from the failed Biden-Harris policies on Artsakh and Armenia, and speak out condemning Azerbaijan’s ethnic cleansing of Artsakh, and speak out against Azerbaijan’s occupation of sovereign Armenian territory. The Biden-Harris Administration can publicly affirm – now, prior to the November election – an end to all security and military aid to Azerbaijan. The Biden-Harris Administration can review and apply Magnitsky sanctions against Azerbaijani government war criminals – as detailed in legislation in submissions to the State Department and Treasury Department.
In the absence of concrete action, our votes are too precious to be given to those who fail to stand by us in our most desperate moments. It’s a service, an act of undeserved political charity for the partisan political interest of Harris or Trump -and, in equal measure – a costly disservice to our community, when an Armenian American cheerleads either of their administrations – both of which are guilty of arming Azerbaijan, enabling genocide, and abandoning Artsakh. If we don’t respect our issue don’t expect anyone else to respect our issues.
