Armenian students in US left without support from Armenia — Gohar Veziryan

The screening of the film about Artsakh, “My Sweet Land,” was scheduled for April 24. However, on April 23, the Berkeley Human Rights Center informed us via letter that the screening had been canceled without providing any explanation, journalist and UC Berkeley student Gohar Veziryan told Alpha News.

She reported that the following day, the Center for Armenian Studies sent a response asking for an explanation for the cancellation. The Human Rights Center said that a protest was planned, and they could not ensure the safety of the students, prompting their decision to cancel the screening.

“After the cancellation, it was decided on April 26 that it was necessary to gather and not remain silent, especially since there are not many Azerbaijani students in Berkeley. As a result, a rally was organized. It was mainly attended by Armenian students, but there were also representatives of other nationalities who came to express their support. It is important to note that after the rally, the Human Rights Center issued a new statement in which it officially reported that it had received a call from the Azerbaijani consulate located in Los Angeles. This call probably scared them, and they decided to cancel the screening of the film. However, the content of the call was not specified in the statement,” Gohar Veziryan said.

It is worth noting that the film will be shown on September 18.

“The Azerbaijani lobby has always been active. After the recent events, when we became the losing side, their joy became even more pronounced because now they are acting from the position of the winner. When I wrote a post about this, some Armenian media outlets simply reprinted it. And Armenia’s silence contributes to the fact that Azerbaijan is even more aggressively targeting the Diaspora. Here, Armenian students look like they are left without support, they have no connection with Armenia. Local students constantly turn their attention to Armenia, are well aware of what is happening there, continue to speak Armenian, study Armenian literature. And I believe this will inevitably yield results,” Gohar Veziryan added.