Armenian activists said that flyers found in Beverly Hills and Westwood on Jan. 28 were rooted in a denial of the Armenian genocide, during which as many as 1 million Armenians were killed. (photo courtesy of Armenian Youth Federation)

After anti-Armenian flyers were found taped to street poles at approximately 7 a.m. on Jan. 28, the Beverly Hills Police Department launched an investigation into the source. Similar flyers were found the same day at a protest route along Wilshire Boulevard in Westwood by demonstrators opposing the blockade of the contested Nagorno-Karabakh region. The Armenian Youth Federation – Western United States, which organized the protest and publicized it last week, believes the incidents were perpetrated by the same person or group, according to AYF spokesperson Tenny Alaverdian.

Though the verbiage differs slightly, the flyers found in Beverly Hills and Westwood call for Israel, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Turkey and Pakistan to join forces in destroying Armenia. Neither the BHPD nor the AYF know who disseminated the flyers, but their intention was to scare the protestors from exercising their First Amendment rights, Alaverdian said.

“It makes us feel like there’s an actual threat happening here, not just in Artsakh,” Alaverdian said, referring to the Armenian name for the contested region. “The march was about freedom to protest, and in our own city where we live, we were met with hate speech.”

Coming months after antisemitic flyer drops in Beverly Hills and Los Angeles, the anti-Armenian propaganda drew swift condemnation from elected officials and advocacy groups, and triggered a police investigation.

“I’ve said it over and over again, hate has no place in Beverly Hills or anywhere,” Mayor Lili Bosse stated. “I will always stand up. I will always speak up.”

Councilwoman Sharona Nazarian echoed the sentiment, and said that the city must unite against hatred against any group.

“We will not tolerate hate or discrimination towards any community, whether it’s Jewish, Armenian, Black or Persian. It doesn’t matter. We all stand together,” Nazarian said.

West Hollywood Mayor Sepi Shyne also denounced the flyers, stating that the increase in hate incidents toward many groups signals a worrying political shift in the country.

“This is a rise in hate that we have seen against the Jewish community, against the African American community, the Asian community and now the Armenian community, which is indicative sadly of a potential rise in fascism happening in our country,” she said. “I’ll continue to always stand up for our communities that receive this type of hate because it’s absolutely unacceptable, and the city of West Hollywood will always stand up for the marginalized.”

BHPD Capt. Giovanni Trejo said the department is reviewing surveillance footage to identify the responsible parties.

“We are using whatever assets and resources are available to us,” he said.

In Beverly Hills, the flyers were found north of Wilshire Boulevard, between La Cienega and Robertson Boulevards, Trejo added.

Alaverdian said more than 20 flyers were taped to street poles in Beverly Hills and along the protest route, which stretched from the U.S. Federal Building to the Azerbaijani Consulate, about a mile away at 11766 Wilshire Blvd.

Anti-Defamation League Los Angeles regional director Jeffrey Abrams commended the quick action from Beverly Hills leadership and police. While the organization does not track groups that perpetuate hate against Armenians, it has offered support and resources to Armenian community organizations, drawing upon the connections it has built over more than 100 years of existence, Abrams said.

“When you tape a flyer like this to a light pole, it’s meant to terrorize an entire community,” Abrams said. “We’ve reached out to Armenian organizations to let them know that the ADL, the entire Jewish community, is supportive. A hate attack on one community is a hate attack on all.”

More than 20 anti-Armenian flyers were found in Beverly Hills and Westwood on the day of a pro-Armenian demonstration on Wilshire Boulevard. (photo courtesy of Armenian Youth Federation)

Once a part of the Soviet Union, Nagorno-Karabakh has a long history of instability and violence. In July 2020, fighting again erupted between Armenia and Azerbaijan over control of the region. Approximately 6,000 soldiers were killed, and 90,000 civilians were displaced over approximately six weeks of fighting.

The war ended with a Russia-brokered armistice. Under the armistice, Azerbaijan regained majority control of the region, and a Russian peacekeeping force was deployed to maintain order and keep open the Lachin Corridor, a four mile road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia.

In mid-December, Azerbaijanis claiming to be environmental activists began blocking the corridor, stating they were protesting illegitimate mining by Armenians. The blockade has caused food shortages and other dire conditions amongst Armenians living in the region. The AYF protest was aimed at pressuring the international community to end the blockade, which they describe as an Azerbaijani “ethnic cleansing” campaign against Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh, Alaverdian said.

According to Alaverdian, whoever distributed the flyers appeared to support the blockade and anti-Armenian genocide denialism. None of the four countries referenced on the posters recognize that the genocide – a campaign of mass-killings and deportation by the Ottoman Empire that killed between 600,000 and 1 million Armenians – ever occurred, she said.

Los Angeles is home to the largest concentration of Armenians outside of their home country. In such a diverse region, it was especially devastating to encounter such hatred, Alaverdian said.

Although neither the ADL nor AYF are aware of a rise in hate incidents against Armenian Americans, the community has been victim to several violent attacks in recent years, Alaverdian said.  By deciding to march on Jan. 28 despite the hateful flyers, the demonstrators showed the Armenian community’s strength and dedication to raising awareness about living conditions in Nagorno-Karabakh, which Alaverdian called “a humanitarian disaster.”

While the AYF will continue to organize protests and raise awareness about the blockade, their focus is on urging elected officials, including Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, to pressure President Joe Biden into taking a stronger stance on the blockade, including by sending humanitarian assistance to ethnic Armenians and cutting U.S. weapons and aid to Azerbaijan.

“It’s shocking that our government, who represents more than 200,000 Armenians, aren’t taking a stronger stand, and in the face of injustice are just letting it slide,” Alaverdian said. “We’re happy to see statements, happy to see them standing in solidarity, but we want to see real action. We want more, we want to know they are contacting the Biden administration, we need to know they are advocating for us in that way.”