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INACTION ON DJULFA IS BRYZA'S BLUEPRINT FOR UNBIASED DIPLOMACY
by Ara Khachatourian
Asbarez
Tuesday, September 14th, 2010
In March 2006, three months after reports surfaced that Azeri
Army units systematically destroyed an Armenian cemetery in Djulfa,
Nakhichevan, President Obama's current nominee for the US ambassadorial
post in Baku, Matthew Bryza, who at the time was the Deputy Assistant
Secretary of State, chimed in for the first time and shrugged off
the incident as something, with which the US cannot be bothered.
At a press conference in Yerevan, when Bryza was asked about the
incident and his subsequent actions and stance on the matter he called
it "a tragedy," adding: "It's not really up to the US to take steps to
stop it. I mean, this is happening in a foreign country." He continued
that, "we are hopeful that the guilty will be justly punished..."
Fast forward four years. Bryza is at a confirmation hearing in front
of a Senate panel and the thorny issue of the Djulfa desecration,
which he wishes would go away, comes back in the form of questions
from senators, especially Barbara Boxer, who spearheaded calls for
investigating the matter back in 2006.
At first he railroaded the Senate Foreign Relations Committee members
by telling them that the quality of a video that details the Azeri
army's destruction of the cemetery was grainy and he could not easily
make up his mind. It is important to note that the same video was
enough for international bodies to express their outrage at what
Bryza called "a tragedy." Furthermore, an EU fact-finding delegation,
dispatched to Azerbaijan to investigate, was turned away by Azeri
authorities in January of 2006, a month after the so-called grainy
video surfaced.
On August 4, at Sen. Boxer's urging, the Foreign Relations Committee
postponed a vote on Bryza's nomination. During this time, Boxer
submitted more questions for Bryza to clarify his position on the
Djulfa matter and other critical issues that have become an obstacle
for a smooth confirmation.
Boxer asked Bryza whether the delay in his response to the Djulfa
incident was, in fact, the result of grainy footage or was he trying
to handle the matter quietly. Boxer also asked Bryza whether his delay
was a diplomatic move so as to not have the US government criticize
the Azeri leadership at a crucial time in the Karabakh peace process.
Bryza provided the following answer: "I made my public statement
condemning the attack on March 7 at a press conference in Yerevan. I
did so during my first visit to the region following the initial
reports of the desecration of the Armenian cemetery in Djulfa in
December. I also used the visit to raise serious concerns about this
incident in person with Azerbaijan's top leaders. These conversations
constituted my face-to-face follow-up of the phone call I made to
Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister to register U.S. concern immediately
upon receiving the December 2005 report of the desecration at Djulfa.
It appears that Azerbaijani authorities were responsible for the
destruction at Djulfa. The response to the Djulfa desecration was
unrelated to the conduct of the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process."
Although Bryza insists he made a statement on the matter in March 2006,
the reality is that if he were not asked by a reporter in Yerevan,
he would have maintained his silence on the matter. It has taken
four years for Bryza to half-heartedly find the Azeri government
responsible for the desecration of the Armenian Cemetery in Djulfa,
the destruction of which began back in November of 1998.
As a key player in the Caucasus at the time, Bryza chose to further
embed himself within Azeri leadership circles rather than speak for
US concerns in that region, which were articulated by then Secretary
of State Condoleeza Rice, before his March 2006 statements in Yerevan.
In February 2006, the Associated Press quoted Azeri President Ilham
Aliyev regarding Djulfa as saying that it was "an absolute lie;
slanderous information, no basis in truth..." He further claimed that
"not one cultural-historical monument, not one Armenian cemetery in
the autonomous Nakhichevan republic has been destroyed."
It is clear that, at the time, Bryza was being guided by Aliyev's
posturing and not according to what a key US representative in the
region should have done. If confirmed as ambassador, what is to stop
Bryza from putting Azeri concerns ahead of those of the US? Nothing! A
confirmation vote by the Senate would grant Bryza carte blanche to
do as he sees fit and continue to evade the American government and
the people, while advancing his self-serving agenda in the Caucasus.
A no vote by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which has returned
from its summer recess this week and may vote on the matter as early as
next week, will send a clear signal that the American people cannot-and
will not-allow rogue envoys to represent US in foreign lands.
From: A. Papazian
by Ara Khachatourian
Asbarez
Tuesday, September 14th, 2010
In March 2006, three months after reports surfaced that Azeri
Army units systematically destroyed an Armenian cemetery in Djulfa,
Nakhichevan, President Obama's current nominee for the US ambassadorial
post in Baku, Matthew Bryza, who at the time was the Deputy Assistant
Secretary of State, chimed in for the first time and shrugged off
the incident as something, with which the US cannot be bothered.
At a press conference in Yerevan, when Bryza was asked about the
incident and his subsequent actions and stance on the matter he called
it "a tragedy," adding: "It's not really up to the US to take steps to
stop it. I mean, this is happening in a foreign country." He continued
that, "we are hopeful that the guilty will be justly punished..."
Fast forward four years. Bryza is at a confirmation hearing in front
of a Senate panel and the thorny issue of the Djulfa desecration,
which he wishes would go away, comes back in the form of questions
from senators, especially Barbara Boxer, who spearheaded calls for
investigating the matter back in 2006.
At first he railroaded the Senate Foreign Relations Committee members
by telling them that the quality of a video that details the Azeri
army's destruction of the cemetery was grainy and he could not easily
make up his mind. It is important to note that the same video was
enough for international bodies to express their outrage at what
Bryza called "a tragedy." Furthermore, an EU fact-finding delegation,
dispatched to Azerbaijan to investigate, was turned away by Azeri
authorities in January of 2006, a month after the so-called grainy
video surfaced.
On August 4, at Sen. Boxer's urging, the Foreign Relations Committee
postponed a vote on Bryza's nomination. During this time, Boxer
submitted more questions for Bryza to clarify his position on the
Djulfa matter and other critical issues that have become an obstacle
for a smooth confirmation.
Boxer asked Bryza whether the delay in his response to the Djulfa
incident was, in fact, the result of grainy footage or was he trying
to handle the matter quietly. Boxer also asked Bryza whether his delay
was a diplomatic move so as to not have the US government criticize
the Azeri leadership at a crucial time in the Karabakh peace process.
Bryza provided the following answer: "I made my public statement
condemning the attack on March 7 at a press conference in Yerevan. I
did so during my first visit to the region following the initial
reports of the desecration of the Armenian cemetery in Djulfa in
December. I also used the visit to raise serious concerns about this
incident in person with Azerbaijan's top leaders. These conversations
constituted my face-to-face follow-up of the phone call I made to
Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister to register U.S. concern immediately
upon receiving the December 2005 report of the desecration at Djulfa.
It appears that Azerbaijani authorities were responsible for the
destruction at Djulfa. The response to the Djulfa desecration was
unrelated to the conduct of the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process."
Although Bryza insists he made a statement on the matter in March 2006,
the reality is that if he were not asked by a reporter in Yerevan,
he would have maintained his silence on the matter. It has taken
four years for Bryza to half-heartedly find the Azeri government
responsible for the desecration of the Armenian Cemetery in Djulfa,
the destruction of which began back in November of 1998.
As a key player in the Caucasus at the time, Bryza chose to further
embed himself within Azeri leadership circles rather than speak for
US concerns in that region, which were articulated by then Secretary
of State Condoleeza Rice, before his March 2006 statements in Yerevan.
In February 2006, the Associated Press quoted Azeri President Ilham
Aliyev regarding Djulfa as saying that it was "an absolute lie;
slanderous information, no basis in truth..." He further claimed that
"not one cultural-historical monument, not one Armenian cemetery in
the autonomous Nakhichevan republic has been destroyed."
It is clear that, at the time, Bryza was being guided by Aliyev's
posturing and not according to what a key US representative in the
region should have done. If confirmed as ambassador, what is to stop
Bryza from putting Azeri concerns ahead of those of the US? Nothing! A
confirmation vote by the Senate would grant Bryza carte blanche to
do as he sees fit and continue to evade the American government and
the people, while advancing his self-serving agenda in the Caucasus.
A no vote by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which has returned
from its summer recess this week and may vote on the matter as early as
next week, will send a clear signal that the American people cannot-and
will not-allow rogue envoys to represent US in foreign lands.
From: A. Papazian