Tweet
CONGRESSMEN CONDEMN AZERI ATTACK
tert.am
05.06.12
Members of the US Congress have condemned the cross-border Azerbaijani
attack against Armenia, which left three servicemen dead and five
others injured on Monday morning.
According to the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA),
representatives Adam Schiff (D-CA), Brad Sherman (D-CA), House
Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Democrat Howard Berman (D-CA) and
Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) Monday
issued strong statements condemning the violence, waged in the early
hours of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's visit to the Caucasus.
In separate statements issued within hours of the Azerbaijani attacks,
the Members of Congress urged Secretary Clinton to issue a clear and
unequivocal rebuke of Azerbaijani aggression, expressed concern about
pending US arms sales to an increasingly violent Aliyev regime, called
for the strengthening of Section 907 restrictions on US assistance
to Azerbaijan, and offered their condolences to the families of the
slain soldiers.
"This latest outrage by Azerbaijan's military makes it even more
important that Secretary Clinton condemn these belligerent actions
during her visit to Baku later this week," Rep. Schiff explained.
"Azerbaijani provocations along the Line of Contact are a direct
result of the war mongering rhetoric of the Aliyev regime and they
must cease. We should fully apply Section 907 and prohibit the transfer
of any arms or dual use items to Azerbaijan."
Rep. Sherman, long a champion of Artsakh's rights, stressed: "I
strongly and unequivocally condemn Azerbaijan's recent attack on the
Armenia-Azerbaijan border killing three Armenian soldiers. The timing
of this brazen attack - on the same day Secretary of State Clinton
visits Armenia - highlights Baku's utter contempt for its neighbors
and its lack of commitment to the peace process between Armenia,
Nagorno-Karabakh, and Azerbaijan. I call on the Administration not
only to publicly condemn the attack but to enforce Section 907 of
the FREEDOM Support Act without exercising its waiver provisions. We
cannot provide any type of aid to Azerbaijan as long as Baku blockades
Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh and rebukes peace with its neighbors. We
must also block the sale of any arms to Azerbaijan, especially as
these can be used against Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh."
Rep. Berman, an enduring ally of Armenian Americans who first rang
alarm bells last week about a pending U.S. sale to Azerbaijan of police
surveillance military hardware for helicopter border patrol purposes,
noted that he is "deeply disturbed by press reports about a brazen,
unwarranted cross-border attack by Azerbaijan that resulted in the
tragic deaths of three Armenian soldiers and the wounding of five
others. This outrageous action underscores the critical importance of
preventing the recently proposed sale of U.S. military equipment to
the Government of Azerbaijan - a sale I recently requested Secretary
Clinton to halt. Aside from the possible military application of
this equipment against Armenia, such a sale would send entirely the
wrong message to Azerbaijan, particularly in light of this horrifying
incident."
Rep. Pallone was emphatic in noting that "this type of aggression
warrants a forceful condemnation of Azerbaijan's actions by the
Administration. It is my hope that Secretary of State Clinton, who
is currently visiting the Caucasus and will meet with Azerbaijani
President Ilham Aliyev in Baku on Wednesday, delivers a strong message
that the United States will not tolerate this type of violence and
will hold Azerbaijan accountable."
Earlier in the day, while the Secretary of State was still in Yerevan,
ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian dispatched an urgent letter calling on
Secretary Clinton to forcefully condemn the fatal Azerbaijani attack,
which occurred near the Berdavan and Chinari villages of Tavush. The
Armenian Ministry of Defense has confirmed 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."
tert.am
05.06.12
Members of the US Congress have condemned the cross-border Azerbaijani
attack against Armenia, which left three servicemen dead and five
others injured on Monday morning.
According to the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA),
representatives Adam Schiff (D-CA), Brad Sherman (D-CA), House
Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Democrat Howard Berman (D-CA) and
Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) Monday
issued strong statements condemning the violence, waged in the early
hours of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's visit to the Caucasus.
In separate statements issued within hours of the Azerbaijani attacks,
the Members of Congress urged Secretary Clinton to issue a clear and
unequivocal rebuke of Azerbaijani aggression, expressed concern about
pending US arms sales to an increasingly violent Aliyev regime, called
for the strengthening of Section 907 restrictions on US assistance
to Azerbaijan, and offered their condolences to the families of the
slain soldiers.
"This latest outrage by Azerbaijan's military makes it even more
important that Secretary Clinton condemn these belligerent actions
during her visit to Baku later this week," Rep. Schiff explained.
"Azerbaijani provocations along the Line of Contact are a direct
result of the war mongering rhetoric of the Aliyev regime and they
must cease. We should fully apply Section 907 and prohibit the transfer
of any arms or dual use items to Azerbaijan."
Rep. Sherman, long a champion of Artsakh's rights, stressed: "I
strongly and unequivocally condemn Azerbaijan's recent attack on the
Armenia-Azerbaijan border killing three Armenian soldiers. The timing
of this brazen attack - on the same day Secretary of State Clinton
visits Armenia - highlights Baku's utter contempt for its neighbors
and its lack of commitment to the peace process between Armenia,
Nagorno-Karabakh, and Azerbaijan. I call on the Administration not
only to publicly condemn the attack but to enforce Section 907 of
the FREEDOM Support Act without exercising its waiver provisions. We
cannot provide any type of aid to Azerbaijan as long as Baku blockades
Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh and rebukes peace with its neighbors. We
must also block the sale of any arms to Azerbaijan, especially as
these can be used against Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh."
Rep. Berman, an enduring ally of Armenian Americans who first rang
alarm bells last week about a pending U.S. sale to Azerbaijan of police
surveillance military hardware for helicopter border patrol purposes,
noted that he is "deeply disturbed by press reports about a brazen,
unwarranted cross-border attack by Azerbaijan that resulted in the
tragic deaths of three Armenian soldiers and the wounding of five
others. This outrageous action underscores the critical importance of
preventing the recently proposed sale of U.S. military equipment to
the Government of Azerbaijan - a sale I recently requested Secretary
Clinton to halt. Aside from the possible military application of
this equipment against Armenia, such a sale would send entirely the
wrong message to Azerbaijan, particularly in light of this horrifying
incident."
Rep. Pallone was emphatic in noting that "this type of aggression
warrants a forceful condemnation of Azerbaijan's actions by the
Administration. It is my hope that Secretary of State Clinton, who
is currently visiting the Caucasus and will meet with Azerbaijani
President Ilham Aliyev in Baku on Wednesday, delivers a strong message
that the United States will not tolerate this type of violence and
will hold Azerbaijan accountable."
Earlier in the day, while the Secretary of State was still in Yerevan,
ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian dispatched an urgent letter calling on
Secretary Clinton to forcefully condemn the fatal Azerbaijani attack,
which occurred near the Berdavan and Chinari villages of Tavush. The
Armenian Ministry of Defense has confirmed 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."