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Dear Senator / Representative:
I am writing to urge you to publicly condemn Azerbaijan’s intensifying attacks against Armenia and zero-out all U.S. military aid to oil-rich Aliyev regime.
Over the past week, Azerbaijan has intensified attacks against multiple cities and villages in Armenia, with shelling reaching just 40 miles outside of Yerevan, Armenia’s capital. One Armenian soldier, Samvel Alaverdyan, has been killed and community leader Rudik Oghikyan is in critical condition at the Astghik Medical Center in Yerevan. All this continues in the aftermath of the Fall 2020 Turkey/Azerbaijan attacks against Armenia and Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) which forced the displacement of over 100,000 Armenians. Azerbaijan continues to illegally imprison over 200 Armenian POWs some eight months after November 4th ceasefire.
Not a single U.S. tax dollar should be sent to the Azerbaijani dictatorship – a country run by President Ilham Aliyev, an authoritarian petro-monarch given his job by his Soviet KGB General father and who, once in office, appointed his wife as Vice President. Please demand that the White House stop any and all U.S. military or security assistance to Baku that contributes directly or indirectly to Azerbaijan’s military operations, activities, or capabilities. It is all the more troubling that this U.S. aid to Baku continues to flow, even as Azerbaijan illegally holds, openly abuses, and murders Armenian prisoners of war.
To date, the U.S. has sent over $120,000,000 to the Azerbaijani military, yet less than $5 million to help the tens of thousands of Armenian families destroyed by Azerbaijani aggression. Congress must stop the flow of American dollars to Aliyev’s army, and appropriate a robust U.S. aid package of at least $250,000,000 for Armenia and Artsakh.
Congressional leadership on this matter is particularly urgent in light of President Biden’s recent decision to waive Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act, a statutory restriction on U.S. assistance to the government of Azerbaijan. This reckless and irresponsible waiver runs counter to the letter of President Biden’s campaign statements and stands directly at odds with the spirit of his honest remembrance of the Armenian Genocide. The recognition of this genocide carries with it serious responsibilities, among them not arming and abetting Azerbaijan’s drive to complete this crime.
Sincerely,