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AAA: Congress, Armenian Assembly Condemn Azerbaijan Downing of Armen

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  • AAA: Congress, Armenian Assembly Condemn Azerbaijan Downing of Armen

    Armenian Assembly of America News
    1334 G Street, N.W., Suite 200
    Washington, D.C. 20005
    Tel: (202) 393-3434
    Fax: (202) 638-4904
    E-mail: [email protected]
    Web: http://armenianassembly.tumblr.com/


    Congress, Armenian Assembly Condemn Azerbaijan Downing of Armenian
    Helicopter in Karabakh


    By Taniel Koushakjian (@Taniel_Shant)
    AAANews Blog
    November 20, 2014


    On November 12th, an Azerbaijani military unit stationed near the official
    Line of Contact (LOC) shot down an unarmed Nagorno Karabakh (NK) army
    helicopter killing all three servicemen aboard. News of the incident was
    first reported by the British Broadcasting Corporation and soon went viral
    across the Internet.

    "The [Armenian] Assembly strongly condemns Azerbaijan's blatant cease-fire
    violation and calls upon the Administration and Congress to take strong
    action to ensure the safety and security of Artsakh's citizens," stated
    Assembly Executive Director Bryan Ardouny moments after reports reached
    Washington.


    CONGRESS CONDEMNS AZERBAIJANI ATTACK

    The blatant attack on Nagorno Karabakh brought swift rebuke from all over
    the world including from Members of the U.S. Congress.

    House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA) was quick to
    strongly condemn the attack. `The downing of an Armenian helicopter today
    is an indefensible aggressive action that threatens to undermine the
    fragile ceasefire and plunge the region back into violence,' he said.
    `Azerbaijan must immediately cease all such attacks and provocations and
    commit to concrete progress in the Minsk Group talks,' Chairman Royce said.

    Since a cease-fire was signed in 1994, the Republic of Armenia has sought a
    peaceful resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict through the
    Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group,
    co-chaired by the United States, Russia, and France. Both sides are
    technically, and legally, still at war with cross-border sniper fire
    occurring daily. However, 2014 has claimed more lives than the last twenty
    years. This past August, Azerbaijan sent several armed battalions across
    the LOC and attempted to penetrate different NK defense positions, the
    largest military offensive in the region in decades. Like the August
    assault, Azerbaijan's downing of the NK helicopter was the first such
    incident since the 1991-1994 NK War. It appears that Azerbaijan's
    aggressive tactics, which significantly impact negotiations, have reached a
    new level of urgency that requires a strong and unequivocal response.

    Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) likewise condemned
    the incident. `I am outraged and saddened by the Azerbaijani attack on the
    Nagorno Karabakh helicopter engaged in a training flight,' he said. `This
    is another instance of aggression by the Azerbaijani government towards
    Nagorno Karabakh and Armenia and represents an escalation in their violent
    actions that continue to have a destabilizing impact on the region.'

    Congressman Pallone, who has travelled to Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh on
    several occasions and knows the region and its people very well, called on
    the White House to step forward. `There is no longer any question that
    President Obama must take action to discourage Azerbaijan from pursuing
    such violent aggression and to demonstrate our commitment to peace and
    stability,' he said. `I encourage President Obama to formally condemn this
    deadly attack.'

    Furthermore, Rep. Pallone called for the `cessation of any military
    assistance to Azerbaijan and the strengthening of section 907 of the
    FREEDOM Support Act, which restricts aid to Azerbaijan based on its
    aggression toward Nagorno Karabakh and Armenia. It is time for both the
    President and Congress to ensure that U.S. law once again holds Azerbaijan
    accountable for its violent actions,' he stated. `The families of those who
    were killed and all of Nagorno Karabakh's citizens remain in my thoughts
    and prayers,' Pallone stated.

    Congresswoman Judy Chu (D-CA), a rising voice in the Armenian Caucus, also
    expressed her dismay at Azerbaijani behavior. `I am deeply troubled by the
    latest evidence of Azerbaijan's continued aggression with their attack on
    an apparently unarmed helicopter,' she said. `The people in
    Nagorno-Karabakh deserve and desire peace, but Azerbaijan's disregard for
    the 1994 cease fire threatens both sides with conflict.

    Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA), a steadfast defender of NK, rightfully recognized
    the need for Azerbaijan to be held `accountable for engaging in violence
    and not in peaceful negotiations,' via his Twitter account. Given the
    events of this year, and the recent death of three Karabakh pilots, if the
    international community, particularly the OSCE, United States, and United
    Kingdom, do not directly address Azerbaijani intransigence at the
    negotiating table and condemn this military act, then the likelihood of
    renewed war in the South Caucasus will near certainty.

    STATE DEPARTMENT RESPONSE FALLS SHORT

    The incident also caught the attention of the international press corps, as
    questions regarding the attack were raised during the State Department
    Daily Press Briefing on November 13. Unfortunately, State Department
    Spokeswoman Jen Psaki's response fell short of condemning the attack. `I
    don't have any analysis of the exact events on the ground,' Psaki said to a
    reporter's question. `We've seen the same reports.
    There are obviously
    comments and claims from both sides, but I don't have any analysis
    beyond
    that.'

    The reporter continued to seek clarification, stating, `Azerbaijan
    shooting an Armenian vessel, then it's pretty clear which party is
    violating the ceasefire.'

    Psaki responded, stating `We understand there are views by both sides, but
    I don't have any comment from the U.S. Government on it.'

    When a helicopter is shot down and three people are killed it is
    difficult to accept that knowledgeable people choose to interpret
    these facts as simply `views' shared by `both sides.' The
    spokeswoman's frustration at her inability to speak openly about a
    blatant attack against an American ally clearly surfaced when
    presented with what is referred to in political parlance as a `smoking
    gun.'

    Available online at: http://bit.ly/1xth8zn




    From: A. Papazian
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