Tweet
CONGRESS MEMBERS CHARGE ALIYEV REGIME WITH KARABAKH ESCALATION
Published: Friday August 15, 2014
http://www.reporter.am/index.cfm?objectid=7CBF01F6-244A-11E4-AF5A00155D008B1E
Karabakh Defense Army soldier Norayr Kamalyan was wounded on July 31
as he engaged Azerbaijani army personnel in hand-to-hand combat.
Razm.info
WASHINGTON - The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), amid
growing Congressional opposition to Baku's escalating aggression,
is calling directly upon the Obama Administration for U.S. leadership
in stopping Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's march toward war.
The ANCA's Aram Hamparian and Kate Nahapetian, on August 8th, held a
frank and open discussion with Ambassador James Warlick, the Department
of State's mediator for Nagorno Karabakh, to press the U.S.
government to meaningfully challenge and materially constrain
?Azerbaijan's reckless march toward war. During this meeting, the
Ambassador was given a letter from ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian, which
noted that "President Aliyev's most recent wave of fatal cross-border
attacks against Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh has cost dozens of lives
and seriously undermined the vital work of the OSCE Minsk Group."
Hachikian warned that: "All indications are that, unless stopped,
this undemocratic and unaccountable dictator will act on his threats
to start a full-scale Caucasus war, one that will visit vast death
and destruction upon all the peoples of the region, likely leading to
a wider and even more dangerous conflict." He closed by stressing
that: "With sufficiently strong American leadership, the Minsk
Group can get the peace process back on track, by unequivocally
condemning Azerbaijan's military attacks and then by leading an
international campaign to secure Baku acceptance of OSCE proposals,
already backed by Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh, to pull-back
snipers and add observers." The full letter is available online:
http://www.anca.org/assets/pdf/080814_warlick.pdf.
"We join with Armenian Americans and all those around the world who
seek peace in thanking Members of Congress for seeking to restrain
President Aliyev's aggression and reverse Azerbaijan's march toward
war," said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian.
Among the recent Congressional expressions of concern on this topic
are the following:
Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA): "I am deeply saddened by the recent reports
of escalated violence on the Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia border and
the deaths of several Armenian and Azeri soldiers. I am taken aback
by Azerbaijan's attacks on Red Cross staff in a border village in
Armenia and Baku's decision to use sniper rifles in this conflict
after several years of respecting the decision by both sides to
refrain from doing so. It is my sincere hope that Azerbaijan will
abstain from further sniper attacks and instead engage in meaningful
resolution talks with Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh."
Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI): "I am deeply troubled by the resurgence
of fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh and hope Armenia and Azerbaijan can
find a resolution to restore peace. I strongly condemn the use of
sniper attacks by the Azerbaijani government, which is in direct
violation of the cease-fire agreement and international law, and am
appalled by reports that Azerbaijan forces attacked a Red Cross envoy.
This continued aggression will only bring unrest and risks jeopardizing
a cease-fire agreement that was put in place over 20 years ago. As
both Presidents Sarkisian and Aliyev prepare to travel to Russia,
I hope Azerbaijan will agree to stop these attacks to defuse the
escalating violence and prevent the further loss of life."
Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA) [Tweet]: "I'm deeply concerned about incidents
of violence against Nagorno-#Karabakh by #Azerbaijan. A long-term
solution requires peace & diplomacy."
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA): "For two decades, the people of
Nagorno-Karabakh have lived with constant threats and sniper fire from
Azerbaijan, which seeks to reassert control over the overwhelmingly
Armenian population of the region. Last week, Azeri forces again
attacked across the Line of Contact, resulting in casualties on
both sides. This latest resort to violence must be condemned in the
strongest terms, and America should call upon the Azeri government
to withdraw its forces and renounce the use of snipers, especially
against civilians, and all American military assistance should be
suspended until Azerbaijan does so."
"Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian and Azeri President Ilham Aliyev
plan to meet starting tomorrow, but if their talks are to have
any chance of bearing fruit, President Aliyev is going to adopt a
sharply different tone from his remarks of late, when he asserted that
Azerbaijan had the means to destroy 'any facility in Nagorno-Karabakh'
and again trumpeted his country's military prowess."
"Since breaking free of a regime that encouraged violence and pogroms
against its Armenian Christian citizens, the people of Nagorno-Karabakh
have sought to build democracy and a market economy at home. Baku has
responded with an oil-boom funded military build-up and a campaign
of bellicose rhetoric and has so imbued its citizens with blood lust
against Armenians, that an Azeri army captain who beheaded a sleeping
Armenian colleague during a NATO Partnership for Peace exercise was
treated as a hero and promoted to major after his transfer from
a Hungarian prison in 2012. Now is the time for the Minsk Group
to assert itself in this long-running and increasingly dangerous
dispute. The people of Nagorno-Karabakh have the right to determine
their own future, free from Azeri threats and violence, and they also
have the right to go about their lives without fear of being shot in
the back by a sniper."
Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA): "The increased military aggression
by Azerbaijan toward Armenians and its use of snipers to shoot at
Armenian civilians and even the International Committee of the Red
Cross in Armenia must be condemned. These actions by Azerbaijan are
violations of international law and a long-standing ceasefire. Against
all odds, the Armenian people of Nagorno Karabakh have succeeded in
creating a democratic society that upholds peace and justice. They
have fought back against attacks to their society and for their very
right to exist. The international community must stand with them to
stop Azerbaijan's march toward war."
Rep. Tony Cardenas (D-CA) [Tweet]: "Saddened by deaths of Armenian
& Azeri troops & attacks on RedCross staff. I hope for no further
violence & for peace & diplomacy in future."
The ANCA has organized a #StopAliyev social media campaign that has
attracted widespread interest and support.
Chairman Royce statement on the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh
On August 14, U.S. Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.), Chairman of the House
Foreign Affairs Committee, issued the following statement on the
escalation of violence in the Nagorno-Karabakh region:
"Azerbaijan's violation of the ceasefire agreement along the border
with Nagorno-Karabakh is deeply disturbing. The resulting escalation of
military activity along the line of contact has cost the lives of over
a dozen Armenian and Azeri young men. A ceasefire is needed to protect
further loss of life and escalation. The Obama Administration should
act to encourage the restoration of a ceasefire, press Azerbaijan
to withdraw snipers from the line of contact, and promote a peace
plan that includes a date certain of a referendum for the people of
Nagorno-Karabakh to decide their own future."
In April, Rep. Royce led a bipartisan delegation to Armenia where it
commemorated the 99th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
Published: Friday August 15, 2014
http://www.reporter.am/index.cfm?objectid=7CBF01F6-244A-11E4-AF5A00155D008B1E
Karabakh Defense Army soldier Norayr Kamalyan was wounded on July 31
as he engaged Azerbaijani army personnel in hand-to-hand combat.
Razm.info
WASHINGTON - The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), amid
growing Congressional opposition to Baku's escalating aggression,
is calling directly upon the Obama Administration for U.S. leadership
in stopping Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's march toward war.
The ANCA's Aram Hamparian and Kate Nahapetian, on August 8th, held a
frank and open discussion with Ambassador James Warlick, the Department
of State's mediator for Nagorno Karabakh, to press the U.S.
government to meaningfully challenge and materially constrain
?Azerbaijan's reckless march toward war. During this meeting, the
Ambassador was given a letter from ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian, which
noted that "President Aliyev's most recent wave of fatal cross-border
attacks against Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh has cost dozens of lives
and seriously undermined the vital work of the OSCE Minsk Group."
Hachikian warned that: "All indications are that, unless stopped,
this undemocratic and unaccountable dictator will act on his threats
to start a full-scale Caucasus war, one that will visit vast death
and destruction upon all the peoples of the region, likely leading to
a wider and even more dangerous conflict." He closed by stressing
that: "With sufficiently strong American leadership, the Minsk
Group can get the peace process back on track, by unequivocally
condemning Azerbaijan's military attacks and then by leading an
international campaign to secure Baku acceptance of OSCE proposals,
already backed by Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh, to pull-back
snipers and add observers." The full letter is available online:
http://www.anca.org/assets/pdf/080814_warlick.pdf.
"We join with Armenian Americans and all those around the world who
seek peace in thanking Members of Congress for seeking to restrain
President Aliyev's aggression and reverse Azerbaijan's march toward
war," said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian.
Among the recent Congressional expressions of concern on this topic
are the following:
Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA): "I am deeply saddened by the recent reports
of escalated violence on the Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia border and
the deaths of several Armenian and Azeri soldiers. I am taken aback
by Azerbaijan's attacks on Red Cross staff in a border village in
Armenia and Baku's decision to use sniper rifles in this conflict
after several years of respecting the decision by both sides to
refrain from doing so. It is my sincere hope that Azerbaijan will
abstain from further sniper attacks and instead engage in meaningful
resolution talks with Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh."
Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI): "I am deeply troubled by the resurgence
of fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh and hope Armenia and Azerbaijan can
find a resolution to restore peace. I strongly condemn the use of
sniper attacks by the Azerbaijani government, which is in direct
violation of the cease-fire agreement and international law, and am
appalled by reports that Azerbaijan forces attacked a Red Cross envoy.
This continued aggression will only bring unrest and risks jeopardizing
a cease-fire agreement that was put in place over 20 years ago. As
both Presidents Sarkisian and Aliyev prepare to travel to Russia,
I hope Azerbaijan will agree to stop these attacks to defuse the
escalating violence and prevent the further loss of life."
Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA) [Tweet]: "I'm deeply concerned about incidents
of violence against Nagorno-#Karabakh by #Azerbaijan. A long-term
solution requires peace & diplomacy."
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA): "For two decades, the people of
Nagorno-Karabakh have lived with constant threats and sniper fire from
Azerbaijan, which seeks to reassert control over the overwhelmingly
Armenian population of the region. Last week, Azeri forces again
attacked across the Line of Contact, resulting in casualties on
both sides. This latest resort to violence must be condemned in the
strongest terms, and America should call upon the Azeri government
to withdraw its forces and renounce the use of snipers, especially
against civilians, and all American military assistance should be
suspended until Azerbaijan does so."
"Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian and Azeri President Ilham Aliyev
plan to meet starting tomorrow, but if their talks are to have
any chance of bearing fruit, President Aliyev is going to adopt a
sharply different tone from his remarks of late, when he asserted that
Azerbaijan had the means to destroy 'any facility in Nagorno-Karabakh'
and again trumpeted his country's military prowess."
"Since breaking free of a regime that encouraged violence and pogroms
against its Armenian Christian citizens, the people of Nagorno-Karabakh
have sought to build democracy and a market economy at home. Baku has
responded with an oil-boom funded military build-up and a campaign
of bellicose rhetoric and has so imbued its citizens with blood lust
against Armenians, that an Azeri army captain who beheaded a sleeping
Armenian colleague during a NATO Partnership for Peace exercise was
treated as a hero and promoted to major after his transfer from
a Hungarian prison in 2012. Now is the time for the Minsk Group
to assert itself in this long-running and increasingly dangerous
dispute. The people of Nagorno-Karabakh have the right to determine
their own future, free from Azeri threats and violence, and they also
have the right to go about their lives without fear of being shot in
the back by a sniper."
Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA): "The increased military aggression
by Azerbaijan toward Armenians and its use of snipers to shoot at
Armenian civilians and even the International Committee of the Red
Cross in Armenia must be condemned. These actions by Azerbaijan are
violations of international law and a long-standing ceasefire. Against
all odds, the Armenian people of Nagorno Karabakh have succeeded in
creating a democratic society that upholds peace and justice. They
have fought back against attacks to their society and for their very
right to exist. The international community must stand with them to
stop Azerbaijan's march toward war."
Rep. Tony Cardenas (D-CA) [Tweet]: "Saddened by deaths of Armenian
& Azeri troops & attacks on RedCross staff. I hope for no further
violence & for peace & diplomacy in future."
The ANCA has organized a #StopAliyev social media campaign that has
attracted widespread interest and support.
Chairman Royce statement on the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh
On August 14, U.S. Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.), Chairman of the House
Foreign Affairs Committee, issued the following statement on the
escalation of violence in the Nagorno-Karabakh region:
"Azerbaijan's violation of the ceasefire agreement along the border
with Nagorno-Karabakh is deeply disturbing. The resulting escalation of
military activity along the line of contact has cost the lives of over
a dozen Armenian and Azeri young men. A ceasefire is needed to protect
further loss of life and escalation. The Obama Administration should
act to encourage the restoration of a ceasefire, press Azerbaijan
to withdraw snipers from the line of contact, and promote a peace
plan that includes a date certain of a referendum for the people of
Nagorno-Karabakh to decide their own future."
In April, Rep. Royce led a bipartisan delegation to Armenia where it
commemorated the 99th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.