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ANCA CALLS ON CLINTON TO CONDEMN AZERI ATTACKS
Armenian Weekly
June 4, 2012
WASHINGTON-The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), this
morning, dispatched an urgent letter urging U.S. Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton to forcefully condemn a fatal Azerbaijani attack into
the Tavush region of Armenia, a brazen assault launched by Baku to
coincide with her arrival for a three day visit to the Caucasus.
The attack, which occurred near the Berdavan and Chinari villages
of Tavush, represents the most recent in an escalating series of
Azerbaijani assaults on both Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh. The Armenian
Ministry of Defense has reported that three Armenian soldiers were
killed and another five wounded in the attack.
"Azerbaijan's aggression, on the very day of your arrival in the
Caucasus, represents, in addition, of course, to a painful human
tragedy for those young men who were killed and injured, a brazen
attack upon the prospects for a fair and lasting peace in this
region," said ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian in his letter to Secretary
Clinton. "It is long past time that the Obama Administration abandon
its practice of artificial equivalence-a failed policy whose only
response to Azerbaijani aggression and threats of renewed war has been
to issue generically-formulated and transparently toothless calls on
all parties to refrain from violence."
In response to a question from Yerkir Media during a press conference
with Armenia Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian, Secretary Clinton
refrained from properly condemning Azerbaijan's attack. She will have
an opportunity to revisit the issue in Baku on June 6.
Following her meetings with civil society leaders, Foreign Minister
Nalbandyan and President Sargsyan, Secretary Clinton departed Yerevan
for meetings in Batoumi, Georgia on Tuesday, June 5.
***
FULL TEXT OF ANCA LETTER TO SECRETARY CLINTON
June 4, 2012
The Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street N.W.
Washington, DC 20520
Dear Secretary Clinton:
I am writing today, only hours after an Azerbaijani cross-border attack
into the Tavush region of Armenia killed three Armenian soldiers,
to call upon you to clearly, publicly and unequivocally condemn this
aggression, and, more broadly, to stake out a strong American stand
against Baku's open threats and escalating acts of belligerence
against both Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh.
Azerbaijan's aggression, on the very day of your arrival in the
Caucasus, represents, in addition, of course, to a painful human
tragedy for those young men who were killed and injured, a brazen
attack upon the prospects for a fair and lasting peace in this region.
It is long past time that the Obama Administration abandon its practice
of artificial equivalence - a failed policy whose only response to
Azerbaijani aggression and threats of renewed war has been to issue
generically-formulated and transparently toothless calls on all
parties to refrain from violence.
It is in this spirit that we call upon you to forcefully criticize
Azerbaijan's aggression during your upcoming visit with President
Ilham Aliyev in Baku. We ask, as well, that you give substance to
our nation's condemnation of Baku's march toward war by suspending
all proposed, pending, or future sales or transfers to Azerbaijan of
military equipment and dual-use items (including the proposed sale of
advanced helicopter-based surveillance equipment - DDTC 12-002). We
also request that the Administration immediately enforce Section 907
of the FREEDOM Support Act, and decline to waive this provision of
law until Azerbaijan has stopped its threats of war, ceased all acts
of aggression, and demonstrated a commitment to a lasting peace with
Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh through solely non-violent means.
Please accept our thanks for your urgent attention to Azerbaijan's act
of aggression and the potential it holds for even greater violence and
regional instability. We remain ready to work with you on this matter,
and on all the many issues of special concern to Armenian Americans,
and invite you, once again, to meet with the collective leadership
of our community to discuss these matters in greater detail.
Sincerely,
[signed]
Kenneth V. Hachikian
Chairman
Armenian Weekly
June 4, 2012
WASHINGTON-The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), this
morning, dispatched an urgent letter urging U.S. Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton to forcefully condemn a fatal Azerbaijani attack into
the Tavush region of Armenia, a brazen assault launched by Baku to
coincide with her arrival for a three day visit to the Caucasus.
The attack, which occurred near the Berdavan and Chinari villages
of Tavush, represents the most recent in an escalating series of
Azerbaijani assaults on both Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh. The Armenian
Ministry of Defense has reported that three Armenian soldiers were
killed and another five wounded in the attack.
"Azerbaijan's aggression, on the very day of your arrival in the
Caucasus, represents, in addition, of course, to a painful human
tragedy for those young men who were killed and injured, a brazen
attack upon the prospects for a fair and lasting peace in this
region," said ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian in his letter to Secretary
Clinton. "It is long past time that the Obama Administration abandon
its practice of artificial equivalence-a failed policy whose only
response to Azerbaijani aggression and threats of renewed war has been
to issue generically-formulated and transparently toothless calls on
all parties to refrain from violence."
In response to a question from Yerkir Media during a press conference
with Armenia Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian, Secretary Clinton
refrained from properly condemning Azerbaijan's attack. She will have
an opportunity to revisit the issue in Baku on June 6.
Following her meetings with civil society leaders, Foreign Minister
Nalbandyan and President Sargsyan, Secretary Clinton departed Yerevan
for meetings in Batoumi, Georgia on Tuesday, June 5.
***
FULL TEXT OF ANCA LETTER TO SECRETARY CLINTON
June 4, 2012
The Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street N.W.
Washington, DC 20520
Dear Secretary Clinton:
I am writing today, only hours after an Azerbaijani cross-border attack
into the Tavush region of Armenia killed three Armenian soldiers,
to call upon you to clearly, publicly and unequivocally condemn this
aggression, and, more broadly, to stake out a strong American stand
against Baku's open threats and escalating acts of belligerence
against both Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh.
Azerbaijan's aggression, on the very day of your arrival in the
Caucasus, represents, in addition, of course, to a painful human
tragedy for those young men who were killed and injured, a brazen
attack upon the prospects for a fair and lasting peace in this region.
It is long past time that the Obama Administration abandon its practice
of artificial equivalence - a failed policy whose only response to
Azerbaijani aggression and threats of renewed war has been to issue
generically-formulated and transparently toothless calls on all
parties to refrain from violence.
It is in this spirit that we call upon you to forcefully criticize
Azerbaijan's aggression during your upcoming visit with President
Ilham Aliyev in Baku. We ask, as well, that you give substance to
our nation's condemnation of Baku's march toward war by suspending
all proposed, pending, or future sales or transfers to Azerbaijan of
military equipment and dual-use items (including the proposed sale of
advanced helicopter-based surveillance equipment - DDTC 12-002). We
also request that the Administration immediately enforce Section 907
of the FREEDOM Support Act, and decline to waive this provision of
law until Azerbaijan has stopped its threats of war, ceased all acts
of aggression, and demonstrated a commitment to a lasting peace with
Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh through solely non-violent means.
Please accept our thanks for your urgent attention to Azerbaijan's act
of aggression and the potential it holds for even greater violence and
regional instability. We remain ready to work with you on this matter,
and on all the many issues of special concern to Armenian Americans,
and invite you, once again, to meet with the collective leadership
of our community to discuss these matters in greater detail.
Sincerely,
[signed]
Kenneth V. Hachikian
Chairman