New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Friday posted a statement acknowledging the Armenian Genocide and reaffirming “the right of … all people – to freedom, safety, and self-determination.”
Friday marks the 111th anniversary of the genocide, with the Armenian community of New York City planning its annual demonstration in Times Square to take place on Sunday, April 26.
Mamdani in a post on X wrote: “As we honor the 1.5 million Armenians murdered by the Ottoman Empire across modern-day Turkey, Syria, and Armenia, we must refuse to let history repeat itself.”
He also acknowledged the Nagorno-Karabakh war, which resulted in the expulsion of over 100,000 Armenians from the enclave, “continuing the genocidal campaign that had begun over 100 years prior.”
The statement follows years of silence by his predecessor, Eric Adams, who was indicted in 2024 on federal corruption charges – to which he pled not guilty, and the charges were ultimately dismissed with prejudice – that involved alleged dealings with the Turkish government: The indictment stated that a Turkish official repeatedly asked for assurances that Adams would make no statement on the genocide, and Adams did not make any such statements during his administration.
However, President Joe Biden became the first U.S. president to recognize the genocide, in 2021 issuing a statement that said: “Each year on this day, we remember the lives of all those who died in the Ottoman-era Armenian genocide and recommit ourselves to preventing such an atrocity from ever again occurring.”
Mamdani, as a former Queens lawmaker, likely had significant engagement with the city’s Armenian population, with two Armenian churches in the borough and thousands living across the city. Manhattan also hosts two Armenian cathedrals out of six across the country.
Newsweek reached out to Mamdani’s office on Friday evening by email for comment.
