'This can only create more hate': Azerbaijan Cultural Society building vandalized in Los Gatos
LOS GATOS, Calif. (KGO) -- In the South Bay, someone vandalized the Azerbaijan Cultural Society of Northern California's office building.
Graffiti was sprayed on the outside of the building in Los Gatos, which ABC7 had to blur due to the expletives.
A board member tells ABC7 this does not help ease tensions between the Azerbaijan and Armenian communities.
"I think that this can only create more hate, create more distrust and if we are to co-exist peacefully here or in Karabakh as Azerbaijan always wanted to then we need to stop these kind of hateful acts, come together and find common ground," said Bakhtiyar Neyman from the Azerbaijan Cultural Society of Northern California.
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The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), San Francisco Chapter, released a statement condemning the vandalism, saying, in part, they are "shocked to learn about the graffiti discovered this morning at the Azerbaijani Cultural Center in Los Gatos."
"We condemn this and all such acts of hate targeting any person or group, irrespective of their background," the statement continued.
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The full statement from ANCA SF reads:
"We are shocked to learn about the graffiti discovered this morning at the Azerbaijani Cultural Center in Los Gatos. We condemn this and all such acts of hate targeting any person or group, irrespective of their background. We hope and expect this incident will be investigated, and the perpetrators brought to justice.
The Armenian-American community is unfortunately well-acquainted with intolerance, as it is made up of descendants of survivors of the Armenian Genocide perpetrated by Turkey, and was recently targeted with hate crimes, including vandalism and gunshots directed at its day school, and an arson fire that gutted its cultural center.
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Already seriously shaken by these acts, we soon learned of Azerbaijan's and Turkey's attack against Artsakh, the indigenous Armenian state. With the military aggression escalating, German parliament members who returned from Artsakh on Oct 18, called these attacks, "a great crime against humanity," warning of another genocide in the making. We reject the prospect of this war being brought to the Bay Area through these acts of vandalism, which we regard as stupid, irresponsible, and unnecessarily provocative."
