ANCA Rapid Responder Letters: Share 2021 Armenian American Priorities

Letter to U.S. Senators and Representative:

Dear Senator/Representative:

As we enter a New Year – and with it, a new Congress and a new Administration – I wanted to share with you the pro-Armenian policy priorities that hold special meaning for my family and my community.

I remain deeply outraged by the atrocities committed against Artsakh by Azerbaijan and its Turkish/ISIS allies and profoundly troubled by the lack of a forceful American response to this unprovoked violence.

Azerbaijan’s aggression and ongoing anti-Armenian actions are consistent with President Ilham Aliyev’s public threats to conquer Armenia’s capital Yerevan and its Sevan and the Sunik regions as “historic Azerbaijani territory.” The intentions of Azerbaijan – and its enabler Turkey – are abundantly clear: To continue their aggression against Armenia and Artsakh with the ultimate goal of the destruction of the first Christian nation.

The United States must step forward to protect and promote the Artsakh Republic’s security; hold Baku and Ankara responsible for their war crimes and ongoing hostility; strengthen the U.S.-Armenia Strategic Partnership, and; lock-in permanent U.S. Executive Branch remembrance of the Armenian Genocide.

Urgent U.S. leadership is required in each of the following areas to stop Aliyev and Erdogan’s genocidal plans:

— ASSISTANCE FOR ARTSAKH/ARMENIA: An emergency $250 million humanitarian assistance package to meet humanitarian needs and safely and sustainably return Armenian refugees to their homes in Artsakh, and a new Millennium Challenge compact to support high-tech education in Armenia.

— RECOGNITION OF ARTSAKH: U.S. recognition of the Artsakh Republic’s independence as an urgent remedial action required for the very survival of the Christian Armenian population of this ancient Armenian land.

— STOPPING MILITARY AID/SALES TO AZERBAIJAN/TURKEY: Full enforcement of Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act; suspension of all U.S. military and security assistance to Azerbaijan and Turkey, and; the denial of all new arms-export licenses to both Azerbaijan and Turkey.

— ENFORCING SANCTIONS ON ALIYEV AND ERDOGAN: Global Magnitsky and other statutory sanctions against the Aliyev and Erdogan regimes for the serious human rights abuses they committed during Azerbaijan’s aggression against Artsakh, including the use of Foreign Terrorist Fighters recruited by Turkey.

— INVESTIGATION INTO U.S. PARTS IN AZERBAIJANI DRONES: A Congressional investigation into U.S. parts discovered in Turkish drones used by Azerbaijan to attack Artsakh.

— RELEASE OF ARMENIAN PRISONERS: U.S. leadership in securing Azerbaijan’s release of Armenian civilians and soldiers, many of whom have been tortured, mutilated, and murdered on social media.

— PROTECTION OF CHRISTIAN CHURCHES: A high-profile U.S. role in documenting, monitoring, protecting, and preserving Armenian churches and other holy and cultural sites in areas currently under Azerbaijani military control.

Thank you for your attention to my requests for immediate action on each of these policy priorities.

Letter to President Trump:

Dear Mr. President:

As we enter a New Year – and with it a new Congress and a new Administration – I wanted to share with you and your Administration the pro-Armenian policy priorities that hold special meaning for my family and my community.

I remain deeply outraged by the atrocities committed against Artsakh by Azerbaijan and its Turkish/ISIS allies, and profoundly troubled by the lack of a forceful American response to this unprovoked violence.

Urgent U.S. leadership is required in each of the following areas to stop Aliyev and Erdogan’s genocidal plans:

— MILITARY AID/SALES TO AZERBAIJAN/TURKEY: Full enforcement of Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act; suspension of all U.S. military and security assistance to Azerbaijan and Turkey, and; the denial of all new arms-export licenses to both Azerbaijan and Turkey.

— SANCTIONS: Global Magnitsky and other statutory sanctions against the Aliyev and Erdogan regimes for the serious human rights abuses they committed during Azerbaijan’s aggression against Artsakh, including the use of Foreign Terrorist Fighters recruited by Turkey.

— INVESTIGATION INTO U.S. PARTS IN AZERBAIJANI DRONES: A joint State Department, Pentagon, and Department of Justice investigation into U.S. parts discovered in Turkish drones used by Azerbaijan to attack Artsakh.

— RELEASE OF PRISONERS: U.S. leadership in securing Azerbaijan’s release of Armenian civilians and soldiers, many of whom have been tortured, mutilated, and murdered on social media.

— RESET OF U.S.-ARMENIA RELATIONS: An upgraded strategic partnership focused on concrete economic and military cooperation that supports and sustains the security of both Armenia and Artsakh.

Thank you for your attention to my requests for immediate action on each of these policy priorities.