WASHINGTON, DC – The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) this week called on Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to condemn Turkey and Azerbaijan’s illegal blockades, and urged Members of Congress to escalate their pressure on the Administration to oppose these blockades and other attempts by Ankara and Baku to economically isolate Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh.

In an August 16th letter to Secretary Rice, ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian expressed the Armenian American community’s “profound disappointment regarding the continued lack of meaningful diplomacy on the part of our government to pressure Turkey and Azerbaijan to lift their longstanding and illegal blockades of Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh.” Hachikian recalled the Secretary’s recent comments sharply criticizing Syria’s border closure with Lebanon and her statement that “good neighbors don’t close their borders to their neighbors.” Hachikian closed the letter by asking the Secretary to ensure that “our government’s policy of opposition to blockades and support for open borders is applied universally and without double standards.”

In an August 18th memo to Congressional offices, the ANCA urged Senators and Representatives to increase their pressure on the Administration to oppose growing Turkish and Azerbaijani efforts to isolate, circumvent, and harm Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh. The ANCA specifically called on legislators to press the Administration to not provide any U.S. assistance to railroads traversing the Caucasus that circumvent Armenia. The letter voiced support for H.R.3361, the “South Caucasus Integration and Open Railroads Act of 2005,” which was introduced on July 21st by Armenian Caucus Co-Chairmen Joe Knollenberg (R-MI) and Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Rep. George Radanovich (R-CA).

Commenting on the day of the resolution’s introduction, ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian, welcomed “this effort to protect U.S. taxpayers from subsidizing an ill-advised and over-priced railroad project that – at the insistence of Turkey and Azerbaijan – has been designed to exclude Armenia. Constructing this railroad around Armenia runs directly counter to U.S. foreign policy and – as if that wasn’t bad enough – makes absolutely no financial sense – which is precisely why its sponsors will surely turn to the American taxpayer to foot the bill.”

The ANCA Congressional memo also called for increased support for H.R.3103, known as the “End the Turkish Blockade of Armenia Act.” This measure, which was introduced by Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Frank Pallone, calls upon Turkey to end its blockade of Armenia and requires the U.S. Department of State to report on its efforts to reverse this violation of international law.

Activists continue to send ANCA WebFaxes to their Members of Congress in support of these two pieces of legislation using the ANCA’s website – www.anca.org.

August 16, 2005

The Honorable Condoleezza Rice
Secretary of State
Department of State
2201 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20520

Dear Madam Secretary:

I am writing, on behalf of the Armenian American community, to express our profound disappointment regarding the continued lack of meaningful diplomacy on the part of our government to pressure Turkey and Azerbaijan to lift their longstanding and illegal blockades of Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh.

Our community was once again reminded about the absence of any serious U.S. effort to end these violations of international law by your comments on another matter involving the closing of borders. Speaking in Beirut at a July 22nd news conference with the Lebanese Prime Minister, you demanded that Syria fully open its border with Lebanon, appropriately noting that, “good neighbors don’t close their borders to their neighbors.” In your strongly worded remarks, you drew international attention to the “very serious situation on the Lebanon border where Lebanese trade is being strangled.”

As you know, according to the World Bank’s estimates, the Armenian economy has suffered billions of dollars in losses due to the Turkish and Azerbaijani blockades. Successive Administrations and the Congress are on record condemning Turkey and Azerbaijan’s conduct as hindering our country’s interests, undermining American values, and preventing progress in this strategically important region. Yet, these blockades have remained in place for more than a decade, with little more than pro forma protests and ineffective gestures on the part of our government.

We would respectfully ask that our government’s policy of opposition to blockades and support for open borders be applied universally and without double standards. In this spirit, we call on you to forcefully and publicly condemn the Turkish and Azerbaijani blockades of Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh and to use the full leverage of our government to immediately end these violations of international law.

Thank you for your consideration of our concerns. We look forward to your response.

Sincerely yours,

Kenneth V. Hachikian
Chairman