IRVINE, Calif.—The Azeri Consul attempted to present a distorted view of history during a presentation at University of California, Irvine, hosted by the pro-Azeri Council on International Affairs as part of Azerbaijan’s ongoing revisionist propaganda in the West. At least two thirds of the audience in the small hall was Armenian, primarily students and community members, who made sure the truth was known.

UCI Armenian Students Association passed out pamphlets to attendees describing the real Azerbaijan, including their policies of jailing journalists, rewarding murderers such as Safarov, massacring Armenians in Sumgait, Baku, Kirovabad, and the ongoing human rights violations of the Aliyev regime against its own people. After the Consul’s skewed presentation where, among other things, he stated that Armenians massacred Azeris and that the historic Armenian church in Gandzasar was Albanian, the moderator opened the floor for questions.

A preplanned pro-Azeri group asked prewritten pro-Azeri questions with canned responses by the Consulate. Finally, Armenian students had a chance and clarified the record, exposed the truth and asked about Azerbaijan’s organized massacres of Armenians in Sumgait, Baku and Kirovabad. The Azeri Consul avoided the questions and abruptly ended the Q and A session short. The organizers then asked everyone to leave. The Consul and organizers remained in hiding in another room while campus Police blocked off the corridor.