NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani Faces Turkish Protest Over Armenia Genocide

Archbishop Elpidophoros and Mayor Mamdani during the Orthodox Good Friday Epitaphios work extracurricular the St Nicholas religion successful NYC. Credit: Orthodox Observer, Archbishop Elpidophoros Facebook page

Members of the Turkish-American assemblage gathered successful Times Square connected Sunday to protestation New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s endorsement of the Armenian Genocide.

They besides protested his views connected the caller struggle successful the portion known arsenic Artsakh to Armenians and Nagorno-Karabakh. The demonstration, supported by assorted Turkish associations, was a effect to a societal media station shared by Mayor Mamdani connected April 24.

🔴 New York Belediye Başkanı Mamdani'nin Türkiye’yi soykırımla suçlayan açıklamaları Times Meydanı'nda protesto edildi.pic.twitter.com/y52Gt5fVin https://t.co/gINc2HGiHe

— Mahfil (@mahfildijital) April 27, 2026

Protesters carried placards and chanted slogans, arguing that the Mayor’s characterization of past and the caller geopolitical developments successful the portion is inaccurate. The organizers stated that arsenic a nationalist authoritative representing a divers city, Mayor Mamdani’s remarks hazard alienating the Turkish-American community.

The contention stems from a station by Mayor Mamdani connected X, wherever helium stated:

“Today marks the 111th day of the Armenian Genocide. As we grant the 1.5 cardinal Armenians murdered by the Ottoman Empire crossed modern-day Turkey, Syria, and Armenia, we indispensable garbage to fto past repetition itself. In 2020, the subject forces of Azerbaijan and Turkey attacked the Armenian colonisation successful Nagorno-Karabakh [Artsakh]. In 2023, Azerbaijan expelled implicit 100,000 Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh, continuing the genocidal run that had begun implicit 100 years prior. On this time of remembrance, we reaffirm the close of the Armenian radical — and each radical — to freedom, safety, and self-determination.”

Today marks the 111th day of the Armenian Genocide. As we grant the 1.5 cardinal Armenians murdered by the Ottoman Empire crossed modern-day Turkey, Syria, and Armenia, we indispensable garbage to fto past repetition itself.

In 2020, the subject forces of Azerbaijan and Turkey…

— Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) April 24, 2026

Turkey refuses to admit the Armenian Genocide

The quality centers connected fundamentally antithetic interpretations of the events that occurred betwixt 1915 and 1923. While the immense bulk of planetary historians and galore nations classify the systematic sidesplitting and deportation of Armenians arsenic genocide, Turkey maintains a steadfast argumentation of non-recognition.

For Armenians and galore planetary scholars, these events are a documented world of systematic taste cleansing that led to the near-total removal of the Armenian beingness from their historical homelands successful Anatolia.

This humanities communicative is profoundly linked to the modern-day conflict implicit Artsakh, a portion Armenians see their ancestral heartland, portion Azerbaijan asserts its sovereign close implicit the territory, which it refers to arsenic Nagorno-Karabakh.

Related: The Haunting 100-year Parallel Between Greeks and Armenians