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Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs call on Bush Admin to Renounce Jones Acc.

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  • Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs call on Bush Admin to Renounce Jones Acc.

    PRESS RELEASE
    Office of U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr.
    Jennifer Karch Cannata
    PRESS SECRETARY
    420 Cannon House Office Building
    Washington, DC 20515
    (202) 225-4671 office
    (202) 225-9665 fax

    Contact: Christopher Close/Knollenberg (202) 225-5802
    Jennifer Cannata/Pallone (202) 225-4671

    January 25, 2005

    ARMENIAN CAUCUS CO-CHAIRS CALL ON BUSH ADMINISTRATION TO RENOUNCE
    ACCUSATIONS BY STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL ON NAGORNO-KARABAKH

    Washington, D.C. --- U.S. Reps. Joe Knollenberg (R-MI) and Frank Pallone,
    Jr. (D-NJ), cochairmen of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues, today
    called on the U.S. State Department to formally renounce remarks by a State
    Department official in Moscow describing the government of Nagorno-Karabakh
    as "criminal secessionists." The lawmakers made the request in a letter to
    Secretary of State nominee Condoleezza Rice.

    Text of the letter to Secretary Rice follows.

    January 25, 2005

    Secretary Nominee Condoleezza Rice
    U.S. Department of State
    2201 C St, NW
    Washington, DC 20520
    Dear Ms. Rice:

    We write to you today to welcome your nomination as Secretary of State and
    to bring to your attention our profound concern over a matter of vital
    importance to the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues, and to our
    nation's more than one and a half million citizens of Armenian heritage. We
    refer to a statement made by Assistant Secretary of State Elizabeth Jones
    during a January 13th digital video-conference with journalists at U.S.
    Embassies in Moscow, Rome and Bratislava. In these remarks, Assistant
    Secretary Jones described the government of Nagorno-Karabakh as "criminal
    secessionists" that ought to be removed from office.

    We are seriously troubled that this clearly unfair and manifestly inaccurate
    characterization of Nagorno-Karabakh has harmed our ability to advance U.S.
    interests and promote American values in an important region of the world.
    First and foremost, these unfounded and incendiary accusations undermine the
    very principles underlying our role as an honest broker in the Organization
    for Security and Cooperation's Minsk Group Nagorno-Karabakh peace process.
    Secondly, the mistaken description of the citizens of Nagorno-Karabakh as
    secessionists inappropriately prejudices the outcome of the OSCE peace
    process, which has been tasked to resolve both status and security issues
    through negotiation. Thirdly, the highly charged and patently false charge
    that the government is "criminal" only serves to further encourage
    irresponsible senior Azerbaijani leaders that are already calling for a
    military solution to the Karabakh issue. Finally, we are concerned that the
    reckless call for the removal of Nagorno-Karabakh's leaders unfairly
    denigrates the tremendous progress that the people and government of
    Nagorno-Karabakh have made in establishing democratic institutions, even as
    they have struggled to rebuild their homes, schools and farms destroyed by
    years of brutal Azerbaijan aggression.

    We look to you to demonstrate strong leadership in restoring balance to our
    efforts toward peace in Nagorno-Karabakh, by formally renouncing these false
    and unfair remarks. We would also welcome the opportunity to work with you
    to ensure that similar setbacks such as this do not arise in the future.

    Thank you for your attention to our concerns.

    Sincerely,
    JOE KNOLLENBERG FRANK PALLONE, JR.
    Member of Congress Member of Congress
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