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Dear Senator:
I am writing as a constituent to request that the Senator – as a leading voice in the Senate Committee on Armed Services – take a leadership role in eliminating the waiver authority granted to the Executive Branch in 2001 with respect to Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act as it relates to restricting U.S. assistance – including military assistance – to the Republic of Azerbaijan. This waiver has, in my considered opinion, been recklessly exercised by the Executive Branch for over two decades – most recently this past April in the aftermath of Azerbaijan’s military attack against Armenians peacefully residing on their indigenous homeland in the Republic of Artsakh.
The Freedom Support Act (P.L.102-511), which was signed into law by President George H.W. Bush on October 24, 1992, included a key provision in a broader bill to provide aid to Russia and emerging democracies like the Republic of Armenia. For specific reasons related to Azerbaijan’s effort in the early 1990s to ethnically cleanse Armenians from Artsakh – Congress placed the following language in the bill:
“Title IX – Section 907: United States assistance under this or any other act may not be provided to the government of Azerbaijan until the President determines, and so reports to Congress that the government of Azerbaijan is taking demonstrable steps to cease all blockades and other offensive uses of force against Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.”
I – along with many Armenian Americans in our state – regret that Congress moved in 2001 – contrary to the efforts of many members of Congress – to provide the Executive Branch with the authority to waive Section 907 as part of title II of the Fiscal Year 2002 Foreign Operation, Export Financing, and Related Programs Act (Public Law 107-115). This waiver authority, which has been consistently granted by Presidents over the last several decades, has provided a clear green light to Azerbaijan to continue their violent anti-Armenian policies – most recently manifested in their genocidal attack against the Republic of Artsakh in September of 2020. This is wrong.
I strongly encourage the Senator to find the proper path in the National Defense Authorization Act to eliminate the waiver authority that was granted to the Executive Branch in 2001 with respect to Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act. It is my understanding that the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 will be marked up over the coming months. For this reason, I urge the Senator to take decisive steps to stem the flow of all U.S. military aid to Azerbaijan.
Thank you in advance for considering my views. I look forward to the Senator’s leadership on this vital human rights matter.
Sincerely,
Dear Representative:
I am writing as a constituent to request that they take a leadership role in eliminating the waiver authority granted to the Executive Branch in 2001 with respect to Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act as it relates to restricting U.S. assistance to the Republic of Azerbaijan. This waiver has, in my considered opinion, been recklessly exercised by the Executive Branch for over two decades – most recently this past April in the aftermath of Azerbaijan’s military attack against Armenians peacefully residing on their indigenous homeland in the Republic of Artsakh.
The Freedom Support Act (P.L.102-511), which was signed into law by President George H.W. Bush on October 24, 1992, included a key provision in a broader bill to provide aid to Russia and emerging democracies like the Republic of Armenia. For specific reasons related to Azerbaijan’s effort in the early 1990s to ethnically cleanse Armenians from Artsakh – Congress placed the following language in the bill:
“Title IX – Section 907: United States assistance under this or any other act may not be provided to the government of Azerbaijan until the President determines, and so reports to Congress that the government of Azerbaijan is taking demonstrable steps to cease all blockades and other offensive uses of force against Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.”
I – along with many Armenian Americans in our state – regret that Congress moved in 2001 – contrary to the efforts of many members of Congress – to provide the Executive Branch with the authority to waive Section 907 as part of title II of the Fiscal Year 2002 Foreign Operation, Export Financing, and Related Programs Act (Public Law 107-115). This waiver authority, which has been consistently granted by Presidents over the last several decades, has provided a clear green light to Azerbaijan to continue their violent anti-Armenian policies – most recently manifested in their genocidal attack against the Republic of Artsakh in September of 2020. This is wrong.
I strongly encourage my Representative – as a senior member of the House Committee on Armed Services – to find the proper path in the National Defense Authorization Act to eliminate the waiver authority that was granted to the Executive Branch in 2001 with respect to Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act. It is my understanding that subcommittees will be marking up their portion of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 later this month and that the full committee is slated to take action on the measure in early September. For this reason, I urge my Representative to take decisive steps to stem the flow of all U.S. military aid to Azerbaijan.
Thank you in advance for considering my views. I look forward to the Representative’s leadership on this human rights matter.
Sincerely,