“We first fought the heathens in the name of religion, then Communism, and now in the name of drugs and terrorism. Our excuses for global domination always change.”
Serj Tankian
Serj Tankian was born in Lebanon on August 21, 1967. When Serj was 8, his parents with his younger brother Sevag moved to USA. Here he joined an Armenian school, later on studied marketing and was even the CEO of a computer software company called eGames.
As a child, Serj took guitar and singing lessons. So when in the beginning of 90s he met Daron (one of founders of “System of a down”), they started a band called ‘Soil’. The band later broke up and a new band “System of a Down” was formed, based on a poem that Daron wrote entitled “Victims of the Down”.
Tankian has his own record label – “Serjical Strike Records”, which is a sub-division of Columbia Records. With Serjical Strike Records, he gives to those musicians who are often ignored by the mainstream a possibility to release their music and be heard.
Tankian is also very involved politically. He, together with Tom Morello, founded the organization Axis of Justice. He often speaks publicly against injustice and violence in the world. Tankian has recently been planning to seek residence in New Zealand until the end of the Iraq War.
Serj has been actively fighting for the recognition of the Armenian Genocide. He posted a YouTube video on the Axis of Justice website in which he together other activists urge President Obama to affirm his pledge and officially recognize the Armenian Genocide, which took place in 1915, just after the start of World War I.
“Last year, Barack Obama noted that many of the same brutal tactics employed today in Darfur are the same as those used by the Ottoman authorities against defenseless Armenians back in 1915,” Tankian said in a statement. “As we approach the global day of remembrance on April 24th, we look to both the President and Congress to stand up for what’s right; to speak against the Armenian Genocide and all genocides at the level of American values, and to never again allow the United States to be dragged down to the level of Turkey’s threats.”
Tankian also has written an editorial outlining the history of the Armenian Genocide, in which he tells the personal story of one of his family members who survived the massacre.